We'll miss you James

Oh my god this is horrible.

My prayers go to his family. I know he has young children. I'm heartbroken.

Please if you get anymore details please share them.

This news is too sad... He really poured his life out and shared his wisdom on here. I pray that despite the horror, that he had peace in his heart and that he IS in a better place. I also pray for love and comfort and grace for his loved ones.

I have this theory that I have seen, that many who go sometimes it seems before their time, if u observed they were in a season where they were just giving and giving and giving and teaching, and maybe why we are still here is because we still have so much to learn. I see that in James too. While the rest of us are still asking or finding our feet, He has been pouring out years of wisdom!

Bless you James and God bless and turn around Brazil

Horrible!  RIP to James!

I'm quite saddened to hear news that he was taken from us under these circumstances.  He gave an extraordinary amount of himself towards helping others, while asking for nothing in return.   Expat.com has lost a great resource and team member, I lost a friend and mentor, and without doubt his family have lost the most of all, especially his wife and children.  My deepest sympathies go out to all who knew him and are missing him.

So very sorry for your loss Julien, the loss to the expat community and to his friends and family!

He was one of the most giving people I knew on this forum!  He was a great help to so many and he will be missed.

What horrible news.  May he rest in peace, and may his family be given the strength to cope with this great loss.

I looked to him as a source of information not only about Brazil but as a person who truly helped others in every way he could, with wit and wisdom and an open heart.  I don't think there's anyone else like him on this forum who has helped so many people.

We will miss you, James, and we will remember you.  Deus lhe bendiga, descanse em paz.

RIP James.
This sad news is a shock to all of us.

RIP James  , though never had much interaction with him, his posts were always positive and i got to learn a lot from them. You'll be missed.

So sad, my heart breaks for his family. He truly helped me with much needed information and guidance on my transition here. I hope justice is found and peace to his family. So sorry for this loss.

RIP James.

"To live in the hearts of others is never to die..."

The world can be a cruel place.
My condolences go to his family and I wish them all the energy they need for a new start.

I'm devastating by this horrible news.
I'm  crying and try to understand.

Dear James, I will miss you deeply and I hope you have a place in heaven.

My deepest condolences to his family and friends, to our team of this site and all members who knew him.

Sad news. He was always very positive but very realistic about the situation in Brazil. Several times, he actually announced on this forum that a gringoes get killed there or there and was homenaging them. Cannot believe it happened to him.
After a few years in Brazil, we get accomoded to bad news but this is generaly in the media. Serious reminding that it can happen to anyone, even people who live a quiet life.
All the best James.

I feel as if a member of my family is gone. My condolences to his family.

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

Henry Adams

May he rest in peace, I was wondering what had happened for I have not seen a post from "Our James" in a week or so.  I am new to the expat family and valued the way James would lay it on the line of all the possible hazards of living in Brazil for James never sugar coated his beliefs or feelings and his knowledge helped me immensely. I have not moved as of this date to Brazil nor have I changed my mind. I feel for his family and the tragic loss to the Expat family for we have lost one of our own.  His information is and all will be of value to current and future members. I enjoyed his involvement and interaction even when he seemed harsh yet he always sounded the Beware Alarm to us all. I will miss the man for his knowledge and wisdom and the truth. My heart and mind ache for all. I will miss his wit and his occasional air of arogance for he would not step around a subject. It's a sad time for me and I will always remember the "Knowing Canadian".  I'm going to miss "That Guy" I know in my heart all he ever wanted to was share,protect,guide and educate.

Staggering news. I'm speechless.

Keep us updated Julian.

My god I don't believe it

Such a loss.  My prayers for his family.

Bob K

Such a senseless loss. I shake my head in bewilderment.

Bob K

RIP Little Jimmy !

We will miss you a lot, you were a great friend indeed.
Always here to help without asking for anything in return.
My prayers go to his family. So sad 

It is indeed a shock! 

RIP James. My thoughts go to his family too hope they are ok.

He left a big part of himself on this site.  He will always help members even he is no more among us.

Will miss you James! 

So sorry to hear about James' tragic death.

Indeed, he will be missed by everybody because of his capacity and friendly attitude.

/Nellie

What a senseless tragedy! My wife (who is Brazilian) and I have been intending to move to Brazil when she retires from her job with the State of Illinois. That will be in 2 to 3 years.

I had intended to try to personally meet James at that time. He would have been a great resource for someone like me who doesn't speak Portuguese. He was always ready to share his knowledge and to help those in need of sound advice.

I just saw this now .....I'm in shock. I can't believe this has happened , to James of all people who always warned of safety in Brazil while at the same time saying not to be too paranoid . It's just to cruel and is a shock just as I was drifting into a false sense of security about safety in Brazil.
From what I gathered from his stories , James lived "among the People" in working class Brazilian neighbourhoods , which can be dangerous places . My mind is swirling with awful speculation , did he get caught up in an altercation with the wrong person , was it a random act of crime , did he get caught up in political violence...?
James always seemed to be cautious and avoid trouble and problems and thats why this news is even more shocking.

Even though I never met James I felt like I knew him through corresponding with him through the site and he gave me a lot of good advice ....
he always had something to say about everything which was great.
I can't believe that this has happened ....please tell us when you have more info.

I see James last post here was the 8th of April....so it must have happened about a week ago....

This is where I first made contact with this wonderful man!! I never met him in person but he helped me so much with all my doubts about moving to Brazil and the document process. Anyone who has done this, knows how hard it is!! RIP William James Woodward and thank you so much for all your help

Hi..

He was killed at his house on April 7th, around 1pm Brazil time.

I am also in shock. I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said. Half the time, I logged onto expatblog.com (now, expat.com) looking to glean information or news from James' daily posts. He was the most valuable source of information on the Internet with regards to securing a Permanent Visa in Brazil; he posted and updated his information tirelessly so that others could benefit from his wealth of knowledge, and as someone else mentioned above, he never asked for a single thing in return.

My heart goes out to his family and friends and to all those will miss his presence. May he rest in peace.

Such a senseless loss.
RIP James

From my experience in South Africa the majority of the time in these situations it's usually a domestic , personal dispute or the assailants are known to the victim and know he has received money etc and it's sounding like that is what has happened here...
They say the assailant and the victim already know each other in  majority of these cases...

Expats a word of Advice ....in Brazil always live in an apartment in a secure building with security and never a house on the street ...my Brazilian wife and all her family swear by this .

Hi all,

I am really disturbed by this!

First and foremost, I wish James' family the strength to get through this horrible time...  I also hope that, whomever is responsible for James' death, will be caught and punished.

I am sure we will all miss James' extensive insights on "how stuff works" in Brazil, not to mention his willingness to help others...

I am not sure if this part of the "expat.com" site was created by him, but if that is the case, to keep his memory alive, I hope someone from the community can step up to maintain this forum.

Peter

Hi
I am very shocked to listen this horrible news, it is very sad to listen about a great person. Who always been positive, helping all world

I wanted these people should never die and I am concerned ? Brasil is so dangerous, such a great person can be murdered?
My heart can't feel calm, I want to listen the story? How he got died ......
JAMES MY LOVE , RESPECT AND HONOUR FOR YOU ALWAYS ..... YOU ARE A GREAT PERSON .... YOU HAVE NOT PASSED AWAY .... YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER BECAUSE YOU HAVE DONE GREAT TASKS .... YOU WILL LIVE IN THE HEARTS OF PEOPLE FOREVER ...... may your soul rest in heavens and peace forever

EL HASAN

I've found several pieces written by James as I searched for details about his misfortune.

http://www.escapefromamerica.com/2011/1 … in-brazil/

ames from Canada

My name is William James Woodward. I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. In 1978 I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia where I lived until coming to Brazil on January 10, 2002.

In the summer of 2001 I started learning the Portuguese language, purely out of curiosity. Shortly after starting the course I asked my (Brazilian) teacher, Armindo Fontana, if there was a church in Vancouver that had a Brazilian congregation and services in Portuguese. I wanted to meet Brazilians, learn about their culture, day-to-day life and to practice my new language.

From that moment on I was accepted into the Brazilian community – like a native son. Through the church I became involved in a project to help poor kids in Brazil. I decided to take a great leap of faith and left behind my life in Canada, coming to Brazil by myself with the intention to stay. At first I kept asking myself if I was brave or just insane. However I soon fell in love with the country and the Brazilian people and I knew that I had made the right choice, whatever the reason had been.

What I love most about Brazil, without a shadow of a doubt, is the Brazilian people. They are warm and friendly by nature and they are prone to accept foreigners with open arms. Another of the things that I love is the food here. There is such a wide variety of regional dishes that it's amazing. Brazilian barbecue (churrasco) doesn't have an equal anywhere in the world. That and a cold bottle of Skol beer, and my Sunday is perfect.

When I arrived here I already knew a great deal about the culture and spoke the language fluently. What I was, however, totally unprepared for was that the fact of the seasons being opposite those in the northern hemisphere would be so difficult to adapt to. I still have problems with the fact that Christmas is right in the midst of summer. It somehow just doesn't seem right.

Like all other foreigners, I cannot abide the oppressive bureaucracy in everything you have to do. It's not just for foreigners, but it suffocates native Brazilians as well. Every level of government, the banks, utilities, public transportation… just everything is super-saturated with absurd bureaucracy that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

One thing has struck me about this, and that's the total lack of any press coverage about this sad event.
If anyone has any facts at all about this, please PM me and I'll try to get something into the press.
I've already spoken to an editor who would be interested, but we need to get details in order to make the story  printable.

It seems wrong that a man who has helped so many people didn't get a single line about his life or death.
It's almost as if he was worthless, and I'd like to see that mistake corrected.

Dates, times, any details about who, when, where, who and how.
Help would be most welcome.

@Fred

PM sent.

Thank you.
I'll try to get at all sorted.

Oh, no!
I just read this. Very saddened by this news.
James really was an expert, and his knowledge about expat life in Brazil was encyclopedic. In my mind, the Brazil Expat Forum was "synonymous" with James Woodward.

In addition to his vast knowledge about expat life in Brazil, one other thing I admired about James was his signature "Cheers!" at the end of each post, even when the topic itself was hardly cheery; political corruption, financial bureaucracy, inadequate structure for people with disabilities, crime, etc., ... didn't matter, James always signed off, "Cheers!"

So while it hardly seems appropriate here, James, I salute you. I'm very saddened to hear of your untimely death. All the same, friend, "Cheers." We honor your memory.

I bet where ever James in now, he's giving out good free advise,
I for one will never forget him
Cheers Mate for your help