Jean Legare passed away peacefully at the Grande Prairie Care Centre on Tuesday, March 15, 2016, at the age of 93.

Jean was born in West Ham, England and grew up in the beautiful village of Church Stretton, Shropshire. At the age of 26 she visited her war-bride sister, Jacqueline Rau in Saskatoon for 3 months- and stayed for 65 years! Canada appealed to her adventurous spirit, and she spent her early years in Canada travelling, working in Jasper Park Lodge, Banff and Calgary. She married Gideon (Gerry) Legare and together they homesteaded in Valleyview in the early 60’s and early 70’s before moving to Grande Prairie where her beloved Gerry died in 1999.

Jean valued her independence and lived alone for many years. Her independence nearly led, literally, to her downfall, when during Christmas 2003 she fell down the basement stairs of her house, broke her leg and arm, and unable to climb the stairs spent 9 days there, with no food but a little water from a water tank! Alerted by concerned family members out of province, the local police broke into the house and rescued her.

Very reluctantly, Jean eventually had to give up her independence and moved first to Wild Rose Manor and then to the Grande Prairie Care Centre where she passed away.

Jean is survived by her brother Bryan Holmes and his wife Jan, of Sidney, BC, three half brothers and sister in England and numerous nephews and nieces.

Bryan and Jan would like to thank the staff at both Wild Rose Manor and the Grande Prairie Care Centre for their efforts to make Jean comfortable during her later years, and in particular, thank Diana and Allan Beck of Grande Prairie who treated Jean as family and spent untold hours looking after her and attending to her needs. They are the salt of the earth!