Enjoying a recent trip to Victoria with the young ones

Jean with Marilyn and Colin at home in Lesmahagow

Jean with cousin Carol at Laindon while down visiting London

More memories of Jean's years in Scotland.

There were many occasions when Jean talked about her childhood in Scotland and her stories were often funny. One she mentioned was about travelling to school, by train, to Larkhall. The train used to split at Stonehouse with the front portion going on to Strathaven. She and her friends would deliberately get in the wrong coaches so there was a mad scramble at Stonehouse, just to wind up the guard.

Colin remembers her often giving him the best piece of meat off her plate (even though we’d been well fed earlier).

On leaving school she started working as a secretary in Blantyre and was given a lift to work by Margaret who became a lifelong friend. 

Another of her friends was Mary, a bus conductor. We all have memories of accompanying her to visit Mary when her bus arrived in the village (our dog, Sheena, sometimes came with us). We would travel up and down on the bus while she and Mary caught up. We now think we were sent as chaperones and probably weren’t what Jean had wanted. We quite often cramped her style but being the first she opened doors for the rest of us.

She also had friends who were nurses. They moved to Canada and Jean was persuaded to follow them. For many years our only contact was via letters and occasional phone calls. Dad really enjoyed the letters and would write back immediately. Jean would always say she was always the one needing to reply as Dads replies came back so quickly.

Sadly missed

Childhood memories of our sister Jean growing up in Scotland

Jean spent her early years in London having been born in Hitchin during the war when our mum was evacuated to give birth.

She was one of the first grandchildren on both sides and was made quite a fuss of. We were told on a visit to Scotland (possibly her first visit) she would follow our grandfather around wherever he went.

When the war ended she moved to Scotland with Mum and Dad and was brought up in the small village of Lesmahagow.

As a child she would visit family near Hazelbank and she enjoyed visiting the sweetie shop where our paternal grandmother worked. Every Saturday we would visit our great aunts, who were tomato growers, at their house called Ashdean. She had many happy memories of her time at Ashdean. After spending the day either helping them with the tomatoes or maybe a trip to Lanark we would play board games in the evening which she particularly enjoyed.

Each summer we would visit family in London and Jean was great friends with our cousins Mavis and Carol. On one of those visits Mavis came back to Scotland with us, being from London May was not used to country living, so Jean was given the job of looking after her. A trip to a local farm to fetch milk didn’t end well with little milk reaching home. Also Mavis had to be hosed down after falling into the muddy burn (in Scotland we call a stream a burn) when she tried to swing over it on a rope having been encouraged to do so by Jean.

Jean enjoyed playing with her friends at the local park or in the fields around our house. On one occasion they were chased by the farmer who found them sitting on top of one of his hay stacks.

Jean is missed by us all but we do have fond memories of growing up in Scotland.

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Jean Marion (Frame) Slieker

16 janvier 1943 – 1 octobre 2024

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