Jean Lavina Rayfield

Jean, the oldest of 5 children, born on May 23, 1927 in Brandon, Manitoba to Gordon and Edna Chalmers, passed away on December 21, 2017 at 90 years of age in Calgary. Jean is survived by her daughter Judy, grandson Sean; great granddaughters Isabelle and Emily, son-in-law Irvin, granddaughter Leah (Chris); great grandsons Tanner, Colby and Morgan, granddaughter Melissa; great grandsons Tristan and Brody. She is also survived by her brother Allan (Reta) Chalmers in Brandon, sister-in-law Irene Chalmers in Saskatoon, and sister Evelyn (Pat) Brown in Calgary. Jean was predeceased by her oldest daughter Valerie in 1997, her husband Bill in 2002, her brother Harold Chalmers, her sister Dorothy Hiebert, and her brother-in-law Paul Hiebert. Jean lived on a farm near Brandon with her family and attended a one room country school until she attended high school in Brandon. In 1944 Jean began work as a telephone operator in Brandon at the Manitoba Telephone System. She met and married Bill Rayfield, and her life as an army wife began. With 2 daughters, Jean travelled to first Winnipeg then Germany and eventually Calgary in 1965 as Bill was transferred to different places within the armed forces. Jean worked at Woolco for 20 years first as a sales clerk and eventually as office staff. She enjoyed being a wife, grandmother and great grandmother. She loved curling, golfing and gardening. The family would like to thank the staff at Bethany in the Level 4 Transition Unit for the care they provided to Jean in her short stay there. A Memorial Service will be held at FOSTER'S GARDEN CHAPEL, 3220 - 4 Street N.W., Calgary (across from Queen's Park Cemetery) on Wednesday January 3, 2017 at 2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial tributes may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation Alberta, NWT and Nunavut, 100 – 119 14 Street NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1Z6 or to the Canadian Cancer Society of Alberta and NWT, 200 – 325 Manning Road NE, Calgary, AB, T2E 2P5. Expressions of sympathy may be forwarded to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca.