“Dad, when the pager goes, we’ll be there.”

With these words Saturday, Curtis Jones, son and teammate of North Shore Rescue leader Tim Jones, signed off from his emotional eulogy for his father who died suddenly last Sunday.

The dedicated and focused stalwart of search and rescue was hiking down Mt. Seymour when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. The 57-year-old, who was with his daughter and another fellow North Shore Rescue team member, was unable to be revived.

On Saturday, throngs of people lined the closed streets of North Vancouver as an honour parade passed by, and packed the Centennial Theatre inside and out to remember the fallen hero.

Emergency crews from across the province -- including BC Ambulance, RCMP, various search and rescue members, firefighters and military -- joined politicians, family, friends and some of the more than 2000 people he had rescued to celebrate his full and focused life.

In an effort to memorialize their leader, North Shore Rescue retired his call sign, because according to team member and longtime friend, Mike Danks, “there will only be one North Shore 54.”

Stories of skilled and harrowing, long-line rescues mixed with tales of unwavering dedication to the safety of others during the memorial.

“He’s been called a hero, visionary, father, friend, but if one word described him it would be unique,” Jones said, before recounting a story about Father’s Day two years ago when he was out on a rescue with his dad, searching for a fallen climber.

“It was life or death for the climber. If we got in there he would have a chance,” Jones said. “If not — well, that was never an option for my dad.”

The advanced life support paramedic for BC Ambulance on the North Shore and Order of B.C. recipient was a fierce advocate for secure funding for search and rescue organizations.

He was also dedicated to spreading the message about safety in the backcountry and was easily accessible at all times of the day.

A campaign set up on the site Fundrazr has already raised nearly $60,000 to benefit North Shore Rescue, the organization Jones spent 25 years with, completing more than 1,400 rescue operations.

Another campaign, the Tim Jones Memorial Endowment Fund, has been set up through the Justice Institute and will help pay tuition for students pursuing an education in advanced care paramedicine and search and rescue.

From an injury shortened half-season career as a pro football player for the Toronto Argonauts, to a teacher and football coach, to a paramedic, life-saver, father and friend, Tim Jones had a far-reaching impact on thousands of people.

Letters from both the Prime Minister and B.C. Premier were read speaking to the magnitude of the search and rescue champion’s reach and the impact his death will have on everyone he knew, none more than his family.

“I won’t be able to call command and hear my father’s voice,” Curtis Jones said.