JEAN MARGARET HARVEY (nee FREEMAN)

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JEAN MARGARET HARVEY (nee FREEMAN) January 18, 1919 - November 26, 2014 It is with great sadness the family announces the death of Jean Harvey at the age of 95. She died peacefully on November 26, 2014 in Winnipeg. She will be lovingly remembered by her daughters Margaret (Rob) Smith and Louise (Colin) Booth, sons Stuart (Carol), and Fraser (Anna) Harvey, her daughter-in-law Rinette (Art) Davignon, and grandchildren Heather (Michael) Rochon, Paul (Jo) Smith, Edie (Ricardo) Martinez, Graham (Connie) Harvey, James (Patricia) Harvey, Kathleen and Peter Booth, Trevor (Amanda) Harvey, and Sara, Alex and Evan Harvey. She will also be remembered by her great-grandchildren Jessica (Rainy), Briana, Ian, and Philip Smith, Bennet, Lizzie and Jane Rochon, R.J., Kai and Angie Martinez, Lucas and Jessie Harvey, and Alex, Isabelle and Nolan Harvey. She also leaves behind brothers George (June) and John (Barbara) Freeman, sister Lois Wilson, sister-in-law Betty Holmes, and numerous nephews and nieces. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 44 years, Ian, her son John, daughter-in-law Elaine, granddaughter Peggy Smith, sister Marjorie Cummings, brother-in-law Webb Cummings, sister-in-law Marg Freeman, brother-in-law Roy Wilson, parents Ada and Gard Freeman, parents-in-law John C. and Elizabeth Harvey, brothers and sisters-in-law Ian Holmes, Aitken and Ruth Harvey, and Gordon and Donna Harvey, nephew Douglas Holmes, and niece Glenna Harvey. Jean was born in Toronto and lived also in Winnipeg and Port Arthur. She attended University of Toronto and United College, graduating with a BA and the love of her life, Ian Harvey. She attended Normal School, then married Ian in 1941 and moved to Oxford House, where she taught and Ian worked as a minister with the United Church of Canada. She left teaching when the family started to grow with the arrival of their children. Later she worked in the children's departments of public libraries in Winnipeg and St. Catharines, using her love of, and wide knowledge of, children and books to great advantage. She and Ian lived and worked in Cross Lake, Deloraine, Silver Heights in Winnipeg, St. Catharines and Brandon, where Ian retired. After Ian's death in 1985 she remained in Brandon until 2005, when she moved back to Winnipeg. One of her great passions was books - poetry, history, literature, biographies, and above all the King James Version of the Bible. Her children were treated to books read aloud by Jean and Ian all the time they lived at home - a practice the couple continued through their whole married life. Jean was a superb storyteller, a fact attested to by her children and grandchildren, and by the many children who attended Sunday school or Junior Congregation in the various churches she and Ian served. She was an advocate and example of lifelong learning and an avid genealogist. She loved camping and canoeing with the family, something she did from a very early age. Jean was also noted for her work teaching English to hundreds of immigrants in Brandon, and for preparing many of them for Citizenship. For this she was awarded the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992. She developed friendships with people from many parts of the world, and loved to learn from them. Though declining health slowed her down in later years, she kept her great sense of humour and her love of poetry to the end. She will be sorely missed. Many thanks to the caring staff at River East Personal Care Home. Memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 24, 2015 at Gordon King Memorial United Church, 127 Cobourg Ave., Winnipeg, with a reception to follow. No fragrances please - severe family allergies. Interment of her ashes will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, 10-120 Donald Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 9Z9 or the Heart and Stroke Foundation, 6 Donald Street, Winnipeg, MB R3L 0K6. NEIL BARDAL FUNERAL CENTRE 204-949-2200 neilbardalinc.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 17, 2015