On April 29, 2020, Jan passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family. Jan is survived by her husband Don, children Dave, Diane and RJ and grandchildren Nelson, Ivy and Nate, Quinlin and George, Graeme and Clare in addition to multiple cousins in Peace River Country and beyond. She is predeceased by her sister Myrna, mother Edith and father Chester.

Mom was born into a farming family outside of Berwyn, Alberta during the depression in 1936, the first of two daughters. Prior to moving into Berwyn, Mom was a real farm girl getting her first horse at an early age and commonly riding to school as was done in those days. After meeting and marrying Dad in Grande Prairie and starting a family of her own, Mom moved in 1962 to Fort St John and then to Fort Nelson in 1976 where she and Dad ran a successful insurance agency and focused on raising kids. In Fort Nelson Mom was able revisit her farm routes, again having horses on their acreage outside of town. In retirement Mom and Dad moved to Osoyoos, B.C. where the long growing season better suited Mom’s love of gardening (and Dad’s love of golf!).

Mom had a love of nature and the outdoors and a great sense of adventure, taking us on berry-picking, bird watching and canoe trips, and family camping trips with Dad. Mom managed to join the local nature club no matter where she lived, and enjoyed going on day hikes and multi-day trips including looking for dinosaur foot prints outside of Hudson’s Hope, a multi-day river boat tour on the Nahanni with Diane, a back-country horseback excursion through the Wokkpash in the Front Ranges of the Northern Rockies with Myrna, frequent canoe trips across Parker Lake to see the carnivorous pitcher plants that so enthralled her, visiting the Sikanni River Falls, Carcross in the Yukon and hiking on Mt Kobau in the South Okanagan. She and Dad made countless trips to Mexico and even travelled to the Galapagos Islands.

Mom was a vibrant woman full of energy and a love of life. She was very well read with a boundless intellectual curiosity, evidenced by the multiple volumes of various themed books about the house. Anyone who knew her, knew Mom loved to be busy. She loved to cook and was constantly clipping new recipes to try out on unsuspecting guests (really Mom – eight binders of recipes?). And no Christmas was complete for the kids and grandkids without the arrival of Nana’s annual package of Christmas baking and jars of homemade raspberry jam. Once Mom arrived in Osoyoos she really took to quilting, resulting in multiple quilts and sewing projects adorning her children’s homes.

Mom never met a project she didn’t want to take on often wrangling a friend into her latest undertaking. She happily volunteered, first with the Red Cross in Fort St. John, then planting the flower bed every spring at the Fort Nelson General Hospital and in recent years helping out at the Seniors Centre in Osoyoos.

Mom was known for her kindness to strangers, picking up rain-soaked Alaska Highway hitchhikers to treat them to a warm meal and safe bed (in one case gaining permanent gratitude from parents of a sick young traveler she met at a local restaurant). Mom loved her friends, old and recent, notably the friends made in Osoyoos that made her life so full. Her dearest friend, Pat, and her family have been a constant source of support and laughter since they met in 1962.

Mom, you showed us what matters in life. You gave us an appreciation for nature and inspired us by example to follow our passions. From you we learned the importance of family and deep friendships. You taught us equality, diversity, fair-play and the value of a job well done. We’ll miss you Mom. You are forever in our hearts.

No matter where Mom lived or travelled, her heart belonged in Peace River Country. A memorial service is not planned. Her ashes will be interred in the Grimshaw Cemetery at a small ceremony to be held later in the year.

We wish to acknowledge the extraordinary care and support of the Oliver/Osoyoos Palliative Care nurses. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Oliver/Osoyoos Community Palliative Care, 930 Spillway Road, Osoyoos, BC V0H 1T8 or to Canadian Blood Services.

Condolences and tributes may be directed to the family by visiting www.nunes-pottinger.com