Jean Stevenson

Jean Stevenson, of Calgary, Alberta, passed away on Saturday, April 8, 2017 at the age of 100 years. Born on a farm near Wakefield, Quebec, to Henry Brown and Maud Kingsbury, she was predeceased by three brothers and one sister. Jean warmed the hearts of all with whom she came into contact. She was also predeceased by her husband Harold in 1986, by her infant son David in 1952, and by her son Graham in 2016. She will be lovingly remembered by her son Brian and his wife Patricia of Calgary, as well as by her granddaughter Melanie Reef (Trevor) of Thornhill, Ontario and their six children. Jean’s husband Harold was employed by Bell Canada for many years, and moved with him during his career to several locations in Canada and for two years in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh and Jeddah). While in Saudi Arabia they visited many countries in Europe and Africa. Following his retirement in 1980, Harold and Jean settled in Sidney, British Columbia, where they immediately became involved in community activities – golf, curling, and St. Paul’s United Church. When Harold died in 1986, Jean continued that involvement as an active Sidney resident. An ardent traveler, over the years Jean made trips to Florida, Hawaii, California, Europe (on three occasions), Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand and Australia. Jean was a proud member of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E.), serving as President of the Sidney Chapter, and was very involved with the United Church of Canada throughout her life. When her health began to fail, she moved to Calgary to be near Brian and Patricia. Jean received several recognitions for her community contributions, and was particularly proud of her Melvin Jones Fellowship, presented to her by the Lions Clubs International Foundation. Jean’s family would like to thank Dr. Don Gladman and the staff at the Southwood Care Centre (angels all) for the exceptional care and kindness provided to Jean throughout her residency there. At Jean’s request there will be no funeral service, and she chose to be cremated. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca.