JEAN DAUM

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JEAN DAUM On Monday July 23, 2007, Jean Daum passed away peacefully with her close family after a long battle with cancer. She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Candice (35), Jim (29), and Leslie (28); boyfriend Paul Janzen, grandson Aidan (2), close friends, and the thousands of people she has touched with her many ventures, including the creation of Coffee News. She is survived by her three brothers, Jim, Bob, and Gordon, as well as her parents, Irene and Jim. She is predeceased by her ex-husband William Daum. Born May 27, 1951 in Glasgow Scotland, Jean moved to Canada with her parents, and three brothers at the age of five, first to Brockville, ON, and then onto Quebec, Winnipeg, and back to Quebec by herself at the age of 18. Alone in Montreal, she found work as a fitness instructor but her love of dance brought her to work at Arthur Murray School of Dance. It is here where she met her husband, Ballroom Dance Instructor, William Daum. Together they founded the LaSalle School of Dance, and by the age of 21 Jean wrote her first book, Guide to Beginner Social Dancing'. Times were tough, and in 1981, Jean, William, and their three young children moved to Winnipeg to be close to Jean's parents. In Charleswood, Jean volunteered at the Varsity View Community Centre and got her first taste of advertising sales with the community newsletter, and in 1983 the creation of the Best Recipes in Charleswood' cookbook for the Crabapple festival. She then went on and developed a community newspaper called the Charleswood Consumer Guide', followed by the Suburban' in the St. James area of Winnipeg. These papers eventually folded, as did her marriage to William, which again left her alone to fend for herself. Jean worked for a short period of time at the Metro One Newspaper. She had big ideas and after two years of research, came up with the Coffee News concept. Her first edition was launched October 22, 1988 in the neighbourhood of St.Vital. Presently her brainchild Coffee News is the world's largest franchised publication, recently reaching its 1000th franchise. For this achievement she is greatly known. Jean being a selfless person, really took all her joy from others successes. For those who knew Jean personally, we will remember her as being kind, gentle, inviting, and humble about all of her achievements. She was full of life, humorous, extremely gifted, never gave up, and made the best out of every situation thrown at her. A celebration of Jean's life will be held at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday, August 8, 2007 at her home in East Selkirk. Car-pooling, drop-off, or taxi service from Selkirk is suggested to avoid congested parking. If departing from Winnipeg, travel north on Hwy #59, turn left at the East Selkirk exit (Hwy #212). Continue east on Hwy #212, turn right onto St. Peter's Rd. Jean's house is on the left, just past Dubas Creek. House number is 78148 St. Peter's Road. Park on Oakview Dr. or St. Peter's Road. In lieu of flowers, the family is accepting donations for the development of a permanent memorial and Library in her memory in either Winnipeg or Selkirk. Donations should be mailed to the attention of Gordon Douglas, and marked Jean Daum Memorial Fund , 78148 St. Peter's Road, East Selkirk, MB Canada R0E 0M0. www.coffeenewsnet.com for more info.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 31, 2007