JEAN DUPLEY

It is with heavy and sad hearts we announce that Jean, our Mom, Grandma and Great Grandma passed away on August 24, 2023. She passed away peacefully with family by her side at the age of 92.

She is survived by her children Brad, Debbie (Jim) and Derek (Kirsten); grandchildren Chelsea (Eric), Katelyn (Shawn), Jaclyn and Justin; and great grandson Madden (Jaclyn’s son).

Mom was predeceased by her husband of 59 years Ted in 2017, her brother Ross and sister Isabel.

Mom was born on November 6, 1930 to parents Tony and Mary Skabar. She grew up in the small town of Elphinstone and was the eldest of 3 children. The family had a devastating loss when Mom’s younger sister Isabel passed away from cancer at the age of 16.  After graduation, Mom moved to Winnipeg to attend Secretarial School and pursue her career.

Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park is close to where Mom grew up and it is a special place for her and our family. She had her first summer job there during high school and that is also where she met her husband years later.  They met when he tried to borrow money from her and her friend to take the bus back to Winnipeg after spending all his money partying at Clear Lake for the weekend. Mom flatly refused him but he must have made an impression as they started dating soon after and were married on April 26, 1958. We had a family cabin in the Old Campground at Clear Lake for 25 years and Mom would stay up there for the summer when her kids had summer jobs there.

Mom worked until she had her children. Nothing was more important to her than her kids and she always put us first. She was an amazing mother and supported us in every way possible.  Mom stayed at home with us until we were older and then re-entered the workforce when she was 50 years old. It was not easy to go back to work later in life but Mom had a solution, she just lied about her age! She worked for a temporary office service until she secured a position with the provincial government, working for Government Services until her retirement. She loved her job and enjoyed her colleagues, earning lots of praise for her work.

The activity that Mom was most passionate about in life was golfing.  She was very athletic growing up and the only sport that she did not excel at was tennis, as she would often tell us. She started golfing when she moved to Winnipeg and eventually the whole family took up the sport. John Blumberg was her home course and she was Club Champion and Senior’s Club Champion many times. We have many fond memories of golfing with Mom and Dad and also playing in some golf tournaments with her. She golfed regularly until she was 85 years old when she had a mild stroke.  She told us many stories about going to John Blumberg by herself in the mornings when she was retired to join other golfers for a game. The golfers, mostly men, would see this “little old lady” walking up to the first tee to join them and they would be thinking how much she was going to slow them down. Then she would then hit her 1st drive a good distance straight down the fairway and they realized they would have to pull up their socks to keep up with her! One fellow said to her once on the 10th hole “Don’t you ever get bored golfing?” My Mom looked at him puzzled and he said “You always hit it straight down the middle!”

After retirement, Mom and Dad spent 21 winters going down to Palm Springs where they enjoying golfing and socializing with friends. It was also a great place to visit Mom and Dad in the winter.

When Mom’s youngest granddaughter Jaclyn was young, she told her Grandma that she was going to give her a great grandchild and she did just that when Madden was born in 2016.  He was the apple of her eye and she loved spending time with her great grandson. Jaclyn and Madden visited Mom regularly and Jaclyn would help her have a bath and do her hair for her in later years.

Mom was very independent so it was not easy for her to move out of the house she had lived in for nearly 60 years and into an assisted living retirement home when she was 90 years old.  Mom made it easy for us by making this decision herself as she realized it was no longer safe for her to live in her split-level home with all the stairs. It did take some time for her to settle into her new suite but she did enjoy living there for the final 2 years of her life. She loved all the company she had from family and her numerous caregivers.

In Mom’s later years when she started to decline, she never complained except to say every now and then that “Getting old sucks!” to make people laugh. Everyone who knew her at her retirement home thought she was such a sweet, kind and caring lady. Our family would like to thank everyone at Sturgeon Creek 2 Retirement Residence, HomeCare and her private caregivers at Comfort Keepers for all the care and company they provided to Mom.

We miss her so much and are so grateful to have had her in our lives as long as we did.  We love you so much Mom!

In Accordance with her wishes, cremation has taken place and no formal service will be held.

Jean's family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by watching the photo-biography above. Please, also consider sharing your own photos, memories, and stories by making use of the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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