July 23, 1926 - Sept. 28, 2015
Passed away peacefully at Saanich Peninsula Hospital at the age of 89 after a brief illness. Predeceased by beloved husband Hedley Joseph Everard (DFC), Loving stepmother to Jane and Jim (Jann) and supportive third grandmother to Gareth and Taylor.
Jean was born in Dodsland, Saskatchewan, the only child to George and Mable Jane Reid. She graduated from the Edmonton General Hospital as a nurse and, after additional training in psychiatric nursing, obtained a Bachelor of Nursing from McGill University in 1968. Jean’s nursing career took her from the RCAF (Flying Officer Nursing Sister, Auxiliary) to the Canadian Nurses Association, and she was licensed in both Washington and Florida. She travelled widely with Hedley, spending eight years in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
While semi-retired in Naples, Florida, she continued to nurse at both the hospital and occasionally at the greyhound racetrack where, as she was quick to point out, she was there for the people, not betting on the dogs!
Jean retired to Sidney, BC in 2002 where she remained active curling and lawn bowling, as well as teaching and playing mah-jong and duplicate bridge. Jean was a life-long learner, loved attending nurses’ reunions and cherished the friendship and intellectual stimulation of groups such as the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW). She would, and could, debate any topic. She paid special attention to relationships and kept them vital. Well into her eighties, Jean could travel across Canada, staying with an old friend or former colleague who would welcome her under their roof.
Following cremation, Jean will be interred in the family plot in Fergus, ON, alongside her parents. If desired, donations may be made to the CFUW Charitable Trust.