Tom was born in England on October 17, 1920. He immigrated to Canada in 1925
with his parents, John and Hannah, brothers, George and Robert and began his
education in Windsor’s elementary and high school system.Tom (TOMmy) Jaques Return to All Inductees
Tom was born in England on October 17, 1920. He immigrated to Canada in 1925
with his parents, John and Hannah, brothers, George and Robert and began his
education in Windsor’s elementary and high school system.
Tom was part of the Essex Scottish Regiment from 1940 to 1044 and was one of their instructors for new soldiers preparing for battle in World War II. Following the war he married Mildred Bachwanshky, also from Windsor, and they spent the next years raising their children Carol, Brian and Douglas. During that time Tommy was still actively playing high caliber hockey with the Detroit Bright’s Goodyear team and in the 1948 – 49 season became the first player in the International Hockey League (IHL) to score 6 goals in a game. The next year, 1949, Chatham opened their new memorial arena and Tommy joined the IHL Chatham St. Clair Maroons which would go on to win the league championship and receive the Turner Cup. He and his family would become Chatham residents and Tommy was employed by the International Harvester from 1949 to 1978.
During that time Tommy stayed active in hockey and was the trainer of the Chatham Senior Maroons from 1951 to 1964. This was era of the 1959 – 69 Allan Cup Champions and the Maroon team that traveled to Russia in 1960 to play exhibition games representing Canada. During that trip Tommy ended up in the hotel kitchen showing the chefs how to cook meals for their Canadian visitors. He worked closely over the years with coaches like Rosy Stoddard, Jack Stewart, Frank Uniac, Murph Chamberlain and John Horeck. Tom was a mentor to Larry Keenan – from stick boy to trainer. After his retirement, Tom would continue to support Chatham hockey.
As active as he was in hockey he and Mildred were founding members of the Sprucedale United Church. He became a member of the Parthenon Lodge #267 and Scottish Rite (Mason) in 1967. Late in 1980 he would join the Mocha Temple (Shriner) in London and the following year was a Founder and Charter President of the Ahcom Shrine Club in Chatham. He spent many years serving on various committees like the Hospital Assessment and the Membership and Shrine Funeral Arrangements.
His two passions in life – in his earlier years, hockey and in his later years the Mason and Shrine activities were interspersed with his love of boating, fishing and camping with his family. Tommy passed away in 2006.