Saturday, May 6, 2023
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I met Jack as an In-law, the mother of my darling wife, Heather MacKenzie. I came to know her better when she stubbornly resided with us in St.Thomas for recovery from her cardiac surgery for 16 weeks in 2019. An independent soul she was! And very particular about how things should be done. She returned to our care in the fall of 2020 due to the infirmity of aging and we undertook the role of caregivers. The appointments were fast and furious and my primary role was to keep a smile on her face through the monotony and delay of her medical needs. There were scary times but we covered many far ranging topics in the emergency room and doctors' offices to keep her distracted. She marvelled at the natural beauty of our region (the trees!) and enjoyed touristing the area: the legendary Shaw's Ice Cream (!!!), the sights of historic Port Stanley and elaborate neighbourhood Christmas displays, to name a few. She expressed wonderment at Heather's work with animals and my ambitious renovation efforts. Modern progresses, like Alexa or husbands cooking, smilingly boggled her 1930's sentiments. Most of all, she loved the togetherness of chatting. Underneath the curmudgeonly dissatisfaction of aging and loss of independence, I found the sometimes more youthful heart of a campy whimsical impassioned eccentric. The attached picture at our St.Thomas Jumbo monument captures this best. You will be missed Jacqueline.
