Tribute

Jean (Campbell) Jarvis passed peacefully on Feb 14, 2023 in Oliver, BC at the age of 96. It seems fitting that she left this world on Valentines Day as her life was filled with so much love and caring for friends and family.

Jean was born June 7, 1926 in Lanigan, Sask to Robert and Gladys Perkins and grew up on a large, busy farm where she shared chores with her three brothers Irvin, Bill and Bob. It was a much different era then and she, as a child would travel to and from school by horse drawn wagon in the summer and sleigh in the winter.

In 1947 she married Vernon Campbell from Radisson, Sask and they welcomed son Dale in 1949 and daughter Marilyn in 1950. Vern found work in the newly emerging Alberta oil industry and moved the family to Drayton Valley in 1954. Jean was a stay at home mom in the early days and was an amazing cook and seamstress. She sewed many of the family’s clothes, managed a large garden and served up three delicious meals every single day. She was an active member of the United Church and as her kids grew older worked at the Sears store in Drayton for many years. Both she and Vern were solid members of the community and were always available to lend a hand to friends and strangers alike.

Vern Campbell passed away in 1994 and Jean moved to Edmonton in 1996. A few years later she met and married Ed Jarvis and enjoyed a life of world travel and also camping in their RV. They moved to Oliver in 2006 and settled in a few blocks from Marilyn and her husband Lenard Jones. Ed passed away in 2011.

Jean was many things – resourceful, intrepid, kind and loving with never a bad word for anyone, possessing a sharp intelligence and a keen and active sense of humor. Her family meant the world to her and with the arrival of grandchildren Tara, Clayton and Derek, she found she had so much more to give. Last summer she got to meet her great grandson Theo who immediately became the apple of her eye.

Jean was intrepid and always game to try anything. She overcame a lifelong fear of water by completing a Red Cross swimming course in her 60’s and would go on to swim a mile several times a month. She was an excellent curler, bowler and golfer and loved any type of competition including frequent card and board games with her grandkids. Her practical jokes on friends and family were legendary and her ability to laugh at herself was so endearing. And she was totally fearless. She somehow drove a stick shift truck loaded with furniture from Drayton to Ft. McMurray with one arm in a cast. She would travel solo with grandkids in tow to Disneyland and Hawaii.

Jean is survived by children Dale (Susan) Campbell, Marilyn (Len) Jones; grandchildren Tara Hanson, Clayton Campbell, Derek (Lauren) Campbell and great grandson Theo Campbell.

She will be deeply missed by all those who knew and loved her but those happy memories will last forever.

Thank you to the staff and friends at Heritage House, Jean’s home for 6 years.   Special mention to the excellent care and compassion from Oliver Hospital staff and Dr Myslek.

Condolences and Tributes may be directed to the family by visiting nunes-pottinger.com