Jean Gant (nee Redmond)
Friday
16
June

A Celebration of Life

11:00 am
Friday, June 16, 2023
Lakeview United Church
3023 - 63 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Reception to follow.

Obituary of Jean Louise Gant (nee Redmond)

 

July 2, 1927 - May 1, 2023

 

With great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved mom, grandma and great-grandma, Louise, on Monday, May 1, 2023. Kind, thoughtful, genuine, resilient, tolerant, talented, loyal and selfless - all describe Louise. She grew up on the family farm near Edgerton, Alberta, youngest of five siblings, during the Great Depression, riding a horse to Saddle Hill, a one-room school. She finished high school in Edmonton, then on to University of Alberta for a BSc in Nursing, and a Diploma in Public Health.

 

Louise met her husband, Bill, while playing tennis in the summer of 1948. They were married in December 1950. They lived in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Toronto, Edmonton, and Winnipeg before settling in Calgary in 1960, where 1416 Craig Road became Louise’s home until 2017 - 57 years.

 

Three daughters within five years, no car and several moves were tests of Louise’s resilience. She was a wonderfully patient mother, despite the challenges of raising girls amidst the social turbulence of the ’60s and ’70s.

 

At the age of 48, Louise enrolled in the painting program at Alberta College of Art, graduating in 1978. She joined the Calgary Artists' Society soon after. Her beautiful paintings in oils and watercolours were exhibited and won awards, over the next 38 years. Tennis, hiking, cycling, x-country skiing, and aerobics were activities Louise enjoyed. She often said that regular exercise kept her mobile into old age.

 

As the wife of a high achiever, Louise indulged her husband’s interests too. She was part of the United Church, Calgary Exhibition and Stampede, and they held Football/Hockey season tickets (she sometimes brought her Macleans Magazine to read). Events connected with the Rotary Club and Rotary International took them all over the world. Often, she brought her paints along on her travels, and she always found some unique and “arty” souvenir to bring back.

 

At the age of 90, Louise decided to give up her big house and move into Lake Bonavista Village seniors’ residence. There she revived the Bridge Club and enjoyed Aquacise and the Fitness program.

 

Louise said that her greatest love was her family. She was an exemplary mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, cousin, and aunt, who was respected and admired by everyone. Friends, many lifelong, have been important to Louise, and she has been important to each of them as well. Her gentle smile, accepting manner, quiet strength and genuine interest in others' well-being were endearing and inspiring.

 

Louise will be lovingly remembered by all of us. She is survived by three daughters, Patti Rippon (Bob), Sharon Gant, and Nancy Gant; grandchildren, Jenna Rippon, Marc Rippon (Tammy), and Caitlin Menz (Jonathon); great-grandchildren, Emma, Max and Noah Guinoiseau, Madeleine and William Rippon, Jake and Anna Menz. Louise was predeceased by her husband Bill; grandchildren, Justin and Jodi McNeill; brothers, Don and Bill Redmond; sisters, Peg Leavitt and Eleanor Martin; and her parents, Frank and Elma Redmond.

 

A Loving Remembrance will be held on June 16, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Lakeview United Church (3023 63 Ave SW, Calgary, AB, T3E 5J6) with a reception to follow. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here. 

 

If friends so desire, memorial tributes in memory of Louise may be made directly to the Kidney Foundation of Canada, 6007 – 1A Street S.W., Calgary, AB T2H 0G5 Telephone: (403) 255-6108, www.kidney.ca, to the Arthritis Society, Alberta Regional Office #1700, 393 University Avenue, Toronto, ON, M5G 1E6 Telephone: 1-800-321-1433.  info@ab.arthritis.ca, to the Foothills Country Hospice Society, P.O. Box 274, Okotoks, AB, T1S 1S1, Telephone: (403) 995-4673, www.countryhospice.org, or to a charity of your choice.

 

In living memory of Jean Louise Gant, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.

 

Click Here to View Louise Gant's Memorial Card

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