I was one of Miss Lilly’s first classes at Hazeldean Elementary school, grade 5 in 1960. She was a compassionate teacher who shared her love of French with us in a pioneering oral French class. We shared her letters from her French “foster child” and learned so much of her life in France. I remember her beautiful dresses and stylish handwriting. She encouraged me, a shy bookish girl, to use my brain and imagination to achieve all I could. I never forgot her. She was a prize educator.

It’s so sad to hear about Jean’s passing. She worked with my daughter Stephanie from play school, when Stephanie was 3, right through grade 9 as a teacher assistant. So many other children also benefited from having Jean in the classroom. With the extra attention Stephanie received, she excelled academically and went on to attend university for 2 years in the science program and ultimately graduated from NAIT with an Architectural Technology Diploma. Jean attended Stephanie’s funeral and then I saw her another time at Southgate. I lost touch with her after that but often thought about her and how she helped with keeping Stephanie safe and shaping her personality. She was such a beautiful person and we were so lucky to have her work with Stephanie for so many years. Our heart felt condolences to her family.