WEIR, Jean Yvonne (Davidson)
December 29, 1933 – August 31, 2011
(recent photo May 27, 2011)

Jean passed away peacefully into the arms of her Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ at the age of 77 years (and on her 54th wedding anniversary) – after an on and off struggle with cancer that lasted 23 years. She spent her last 8 days in the “Hospice House” in Kelowna – a wonderful facility staffed by a skillful group of nursing and caring professionals. In the evening from 10 pm – 6 am a precious group of volunteers showed up to sit with Jean and offer care and consolation as she slept. The family would like to thank those ladies for their presence and assistance – Bless your hearts!

Jean will be fondly remembered by her loving husband David, her sister Ruth Redden of Saskatoon and Ruth’s daughter Pamela Redden of Abbotsford, BC, as well as Jean’s brother Walter (Marie) Davidson of Abbotsford, BC and their daughter Shannon (David) Ardell and their children Tyson & Troy also of Abbotsford and Walter and Marie’s son Vaughn (Sandra) Davidson and their daughters Taryn and Delaney of Lloydminster, AB, and Jean’s youngest brother Graeme Davidson of Winnipeg, MB, and his daughter Michelle (Matt) Frost and their daughters Natasha & Sarah also of Winnipeg. Also left to grieve are many cousins and a large number of very close friends.
Loving Jean was easy – we did it every day – but missing her will be a heartache that will never go away.

Jean was born in Kindersley, SK, to William and Letha Davidson. Jean was predeceased by her parents and an older sister Phyllis who passed away from diphtheria in 1939 when Jean was 6 years old. Her sister Phyllis was born in 1930. Jean attended school in Kindersley, Prairie Bible School in Three Hills, AB, Two Rivers Bible School in Saskatchewan, Briercrest Bible School in Caronport, SK, and lastly at the Regina General Hospital School of Nursing graduating with her RN in 1956. Jean worked 3 years on a private surgical ward (K Flat) then transferred to the operating room where she spent the next 29 years in the Department of Anesthesiology. She retired in 1988 at age 55. Jean’s battle with cancer began shortly thereafter and the prognosis was not very good – with the possibility of only 2 years to live – and maybe 5 years if she was lucky. Obviously God had other plans and sustained Jean over the next 23 years as she encountered various other outbreaks of cancer and endured the many forms of treatment but always with a determined mentality and a positive and cheery “I’ll be fine” response (and she was fine). It wasn’t easy but she soldiered on leaving it all up to God and trusting the decisions of the “new” local cancer clinic in Kelowna and her oncologist Dr. Susan Ellard who cared for Jean with 3 month recalls from 2001 until January 2011 when there was nothing more that she could do to assist Jean any further. Jean signed on for palliative care in January 2011 but didn’t need a lot of help until about June of 2011. She was given 6 months to a year to live in January 2011 and managed to last 7 months with accelerating difficulties in August. She was happy with the fact that when God called her number she would be out of here – but as she said – “boy, is He ever taking His time!”

The family would like to thank Dr. Peter Gorman (Regina) for Jean’s initial surgery back in 1988 – good job Peter – she lasted way longer than anticipated – also Dr. Dean Griswald, Dr. Glen Benoit, Jean’s oncologist Dr. Susan Ellard as well as Home Care and Palliative Response nurses. Wayne Senner of the Thoracic Surgery Dept. and Marty Uitulugt of the Respiratory Dept., certainly the nurses and the technicians all did a tremendous job caring for Jean. Thank you to the volunteers who sat with Jean in the evening hours. Special thanks to Bill and Joan Hartwig who provided encouragement and prayerful support on a continual basis. Thank you also to those who sent flowers, cards and letters of encouragement and phoned often to see how Jean was doing – God bless each of you for your concern – you were appreciated!

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Central Okanagan Hospice House, 2035 Ethel Street, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 2Z6 or the BC Cancer Agency for the Southern Interior: 399 Royal Ave, Kelowna, BC, V1Y 5L3.

A memorial service will be held in Regina, SK, at 2 pm on Monday, September 19, 2011 at Regina Funeral Home and burial will take place in the Memorial Gardens – Garden of the Last Supper, #1 Highway East, Regina.

Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.springfieldfuneralhome.com, 250-860-7077.

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