A man, who spent his retirement waving to drivers on the side of the highway with his brother, is being remembered for giving a small gesture of kindness that put his First Nation on the map in a big way.

James (Jimmy) Starr passed away Thursday night in a personal care home in Winnipeg, where he'd been living the last several years. He was 73.

"He enjoyed what he did to make people feel happy and joyful," said his niece Mary Sinclair-Chartrand.

James along with brother Nelson spent years sitting outside their retirement home in lawn chairs on the side of Highway 59 on the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, waving to everyone who drove by.

Watch this 2002 CBC story on the brothers:

If you travelled up Highway 59 to the beaches this weekend, you saw them. They've been out there all summer long. Two brothers with an unusual hobby, waving to motorists, one that has touched the hearts of many. 2:04

That included many drivers coming from Winnipeg who were en route to cabins or beaches north of Brokenhead. Often they'd roll down their windows and honk in support of the waving brothers. The brothers' motivation?

"Make them happy, I guess," James said, in a 2002 interview with CBC News.

At the time, Nelson said with a laugh that he'd continue waving until he died. He passed away at 71 in 2007. Their hobby attracted many fans, and sometimes drivers would pull over and give a small gift to the brothers, who'd spend some days 10 hours waving outside.

The brothers, seen above in this 2002 file photo, would spend as many as 10 hours a day outside waving to everyone who passed through their community. (CBC)

"They enjoyed being out there for the day. They always made sure they had umbrellas and chairs to sit on when they got tired, and we'd take them drinks and coffee and water and things like that," Sinclair-Chartrand recalled.

Gas station named Wavers to honour brothers

A gas station in Brokenhead across from where the brothers would sit was even named after the two, and a big chair now sits there in their honour.

Wavers gas station manager Allen Hocaluk said it was important to recognize the men.

"We thought these were a couple great ambassadors from our community that a lot of people recognized or knew."

We thought these were a couple great ambassadors from our community that a lot of people recognized or knew. - Wavers gas station manager Allen Hocaluk

Starr's sister Eunice Galvin recalled being a little concerned about her brothers' waving efforts at times.

"I didn't mind it all, but sometimes I was worried about them especially Nelson used to go up to the road, a little up, and I … was scared they'd get hit or something," she said in a phone interview Saturday.

Galvin said her brother waved goodbye to family members shortly before he passed away in the personal care home.