Kathleen Jack

Kathleen (Kay) Jack’s story began on June 1, 1931 in Abbey, Saskatchewan where she was born to Mary Evelyn (Janzen) Dewar and Frank William Dewar. She was named after her maternal grandmother and Edith was the name of her dad’s mother. Her father was a principal/teacher in Southern Saskatchewan and then after World War 2 they moved to Saskatoon where her parents lived until they died at the ages of 97 and 89.

Kay enjoyed school and was active in volleyball, basketball and tennis. She played the cello in the school orchestra and then the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra.

She met Ross Jack while taking her Bachelor of Law Degree at the University of Saskatoon and they were married in 1953. After graduation, Kathleen worked for the Provincial Government in the department of Social Welfare, in Regina, working for unmarried mothers, foster homes and adoptions.

Once her first two children, Nancy and Gary, were born, Kay and Ross moved to Calgary where Alison was born. In 1964, the family moved to Assiniboia where Ross joined the law firm - Frost, MacLean and Jack.

Kay kept busy with various activities. She helped to develop a kindergarten in town, helped to start the community band and was on the executive. She loved that all of the family played and she even marched in the Calgary Stampede Parade one year. She was involved with the Eastern Star, and the Music Festival’s in Assiniboia and Regina for many years. After the kids were older, she worked in the Law office and at Ross Funeral Home before she and Ross moved overseas to Papua New Guinea in 1981 with CUSO.

While in Port Moresby, Kay worked for the Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific which was an aid organization to help the native peoples establish projects within their villages. In Vanimo, she did book work for the Premier and the Provincial Secretary and then, while on patrol, was their recording secretary. She always felt safe and at home in Papua New Guinea. She even met the original Maria Van Trapp in the Jungle and rode in a little boat with her.

After Papua New Guinea, Ross and Kay were located in Tuvalu, an atoll on the equator where she did some work with Save the Children. She set up their library and did their books.

Kay and Ross moved back to Canada in 1987. Kay then worked in Victoria with the Inter-cultural Association of Greater Victoria which looked after immigrants and refugees from various countries. She worked there until returning to Regina in 1989 to retire.

Not having a regular job then, Kay kept busy with various activities. She loved playing bridge, taking Senior Education Classes at the University and swimming, doing laps daily until she was 80. But the most meaningful to her was being associated with the Palliative Care program. Kay volunteered doing Palliative care work with people of all ages and then set up a bereavement group, after her son died, that met every week to talk and walk around the lake- rain or shine for over 20 years.

Ross and Kay moved back to their Assiniboia roots in 2014. They always felt that was ‘home’ since they raised their family there.

Kay’s kids and grandkids were lucky recipients of her amazing knitting, cross-stitched works of art, times spent baking with her while perched up on a stool or playing a serious game of cards or Yahtzee. Kay loved to read and kept up with her newspaper reading until her passing. She followed many sports on t.v. and had conversations with newspaper editors to ensure that they covered all sports. She was an advocate for the underdogs in life.

She had a special quality to make each of her family members feel unique and that what they were doing was important. She took the time to listen - not to pass judgment, but to really listen and extend positive feedback. Her constant support and love was always felt by her family and friends. She will be remembered for many things like her sayings: Life is short… eat desert first, Mild concern and her incredible love of chocolate! She lived her life her way and the world is better for it. Kathleen (Kay) Jack passed away August 11, at age 93, at Foyer d’Youville, Gravelbourg, SK.

Kay is survived by two daughters, Nancy (Tim) Banick and Alison (Terry) Lewis; her grandchildren Damian (Brandy) Banick, Kara (Dan) Banick, Jenny (Cade) Lewis, Carter (Nicole) Lewis, great-grandchildren: Mykal, Taye, Rain, Justis, Lincoln and Watson, brother Douglas (Gail) Dewar, sister Evelyn Fisher, nieces and nephews. Kay was predeceased by her son Gary Jack (1994), husband Ross Jack (2020) and sister-in-law Golden Christie (2022). Celebration of Kay’s life will be held at a later date.

Kathleen loved supporting the arts and also loved her care at the Foyer d’Youville. Those wishing to make donations in Kay’s name can be made in support of the Assiniboia & District Arts Council (Box 1596 Assiniboia, SK S0H 0B0) or St. Joseph’s Hospital/Foyer d’Youville Foundation Care Home (Box 810, Gravelbourg, SK S0H 1X0). Cheques with full name and mailing address can be made payable to “St. Joseph’s Hospital / Foyer d’Youville Foundation Inc. with “Activity Fund” in the memo. Expressions of sympathy for the Jack family may be shared at www.rossfuneralservice.com. Arrangements entrusted to Ross Funeral Service, Assiniboia, SK