Jean West

Jean West was born in Liverpool in 1928 to James and Agnes (Whitfield) Tillston. There she attended Blackburne House on a scholarship. In 1948, she married Ernest Edward Rodney (Ron) West, a Grenadier Guardsman who served in World War II. They immigrated to Canada in 1954, with their three children, Michael, Mark and Peter. Later on in Canada, two more children were born, Katherine and Stephen.

As a young girl during the war, Jean and her sisters were evacuated from Liverpool, like 100,000 other children, in their case, to Colwyn Bay, in Wales. This experience marked her at the time, and very probably, for life. At this time she learned the difference between the romance of travel, and change, and the fear of separation from her two sisters, the destruction by bombs and fire of her family house, and the possibility of never seeing her parents again.

As soon as her own large family had learned to take more care of itself, Jean began her long, nineteen-year career working at the University of Manitoba. She held positions in Entomology, the Book Store (Special Order Desk), and lastly, the Parking Office. Jean and Ron enjoyed a long and happy retirement, filled with with travel and family growth. They eventually moved from Winnipeg to Calgary, living there for 14 years, until Jean returned to Winnipeg in 2007, some years after Ron’s death.

Jean loved reading, movies and music. Her taste in books was wide-ranging, including history, biography, fiction, spy and detective stories. Aside from the classics, she loved action movies, and all the new “young” directors of the day, such as Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Jonathan Glazer. Late in her life she developed a love for foreign movies, particularly German and Spanish, with Pedro Almodóvar one of her particular favorites.

Jean was a fabulous cook and family gatherings were a fun time for friends and family. She kept a positive attitude, active mind and body throughout her life. The economic management of the house was a fierce challenge for poor families newly arrived in Canada. Jean accounted for every penny, shopped with atomic efficiency, and together with her husband, Ron, provided a rich, stimulating life for their family and others. Friendships were few, but enduring, and among her recent new enthusiasms was an unexpected excitement for sport, hockey and football especially, and including comprehensive opinions about coaching manners and styles.

Throughout her life Jean exercised a compassionate social conscience, showing sensitivity to vulnerable populations, the poor, housing and immigration. She participated in demonstrations, fund-raising (most recently, for Syrian refugees), wrote letters to the editor, and frequently challenged the status quo by confronting authorities in schools and government, concerning justice and accountability.

Jean had a vigorous, progressive attitude to the arts and education. In 1973 she took her husband Ron and their young son, Stephen, to a David Bowie (Ziggy) concert in Liverpool (The Empire), at a time when the prevailing view among her generation was outrage and condemnation. Jean spoke out against injustice wherever she went and advocated firmly for equal rights for women, gender and racial minorities, including gay marriage and LGBTQ rights, while many of her generation held fast to more conservative values.

Left to cherish her memory are Michael (Lydia), Mark (Margaret), Peter (Lesley), Katherine, and Stephen (Alys-Lynne); grandchildren: Clinton, Matthew, Christopher (Heather), Patrick (Myra) and Katherine (Culainn); Simon (McKenzie) and Sam; Emily (Kyle) and Lucas (Marie-Claude); Gabriel (Carolina); Kieran (Jamie), Alexander (Spencer), Adam (Carolina) and Joe (Kelly); great-grandchildren: Kendall, Isabella, Juliana, Sebastian and Sofia.

Jean was predeceased by her husband, Ron, in 2001, and her granddaughter Adriana, in 1994, her parents, older sister Betty, and her identical twin sister Joyce, who died exactly four years previously, to the very day.

A typical show of charm and grit from the time of her last illness is illuminating. Having failed to shoo the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service members, who had filled up her bedroom in numbers, and great industry, while she lay seriously ill, she characteristically called out to them: “would anyone like a piece of cake before you leave?”

We thank the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, ICMSU SBGH Drs Kevin Friesen, Rizwan Manji, Allan Schaffer and Nurse Shannon. We are grateful to you for the skillful medical attention that was accompanied by compassion for our Mother and her family. Our Mother's dignity was preserved throughout the many interventions.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Jean’s name to a current Syrian Refugee fund.

Cremation has taken place and a private family service was held.