It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our mother peacefully in her sleep on March 4, 2021, just days short of her 100th birthday. She is predeceased by her husband Lloyd of 50 years. She is survived by daughter Ann (Tom) Downey and grandchildren Eva and Brian, and son John (Robin) and grandchildren Ross and Kelly of Prince George.
Jean lived in Rochanville, Saskatchewan until the age of 9 when her family moved to West Kildonan. Jean enjoyed school and following grade 11 she enrolled in the Faculty of Commerce and was one of only two girls in the class. Jean left university when WWII broke out and took a job at the Bank of Montreal main branch. She loved her work there and spoke often the various positions she held and often wondered how far she would have gone if she hadn’t been required to resign when she married Lloyd in 1946. Married women at that time were not allowed to work at the bank.
Jean and Lloyd lived in Norwood for over 40 years, and built the family cottage on Lake of the Woods in 1963. Jean enjoyed her summers at the lake with the kids and then the extended time they spent there once Lloyd retired. Jean loved to travel. She and Lloyd spent 21 winters in Hawaii and a few in Palm Desert. In Honolulu, they were always close enough to Ala Moana shopping centre for Jean to walk over to window shop. Other travel highlights were their 40th anniversary trip to Australia and New Zealand and her trips to Washington DC with John and to New York City with Ann.
Jean was an avid crafter, sewing most of her own clothes, and she always had a knitting, crocheting and/or quilting project on the go. She would knit while reading, watching TV, sitting in the car and even on the beach. Her most proud achievements were the coats she sewed for herself and the wedding dress she crocheted for the daughter of a friend.
Jean got her first car for Christmas 1964, a 1965 baby blue Corvair, and she continued to drive until her early 90s. It gave her a real sense of freedom, allowing her to go back and forth to the cottage, make a quick trip to Eatons to get a spool of thread, or go on shopping trips to Grand Forks. It also enabled her to volunteer for the CNIB, driving people to weekly get togethers at the Portage Avenue location, where she would record textbooks for blind students while she waited. Jean coordinated the canvassers in Norwood for the Salvation Army, but her favourite volunteer work was stuffing envelopes for the Humane Society, always with a dog beside her for company.
We wish to give our heartfelt thanks to the staff at Actionmarguerite Saint-Boniface who cared for her with great compassion during the COVID pandemic and during her final days.
In keeping with Jean’s wishes cremation has taken place. A small family memorial will take place at a later date. Donations in Jean’s memory can be made to the Winnipeg Humane Society or a charity of your choice.
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