It is with heavy hearts that the family of Jessie Kathleen
Smith of Moncton, and Forest Dale Home in Riverside-Albert, announce
her peaceful passing with family by her side, on May 15, 2022, at the
age of 96.
Jessie was born to Garfield and Campsie Yeo on June 1, 1925,
in Central Lot 16, just a stone’s throw away from
Summerside, PEI.
Growing up in the country, Mum was something of a tomboy and
daredevil. She had great hand-eye coordination, was a sprinter who
relished beating the boys when challenged to a race and loved to play
soccer.
At 17, she left her beloved Island to continue her education
in the big city of Moncton on the mainland where she attended business
college. It didn’t take her long to meet the love of her
life, Lloyd Smith. They married in 1947 and raised two daughters. They
enjoyed almost 50 wonderful years of marriage that only ended when
Lloyd passed away in 1996.
Mum was totally devoted to her family. She often went without
to better provide for her daughters. She was an unfailingly giving and
caring person. She was the most unselfish person anyone could ever
meet. She was also an amazing cook and in many ways was ahead of her
time, such as when she experimented with and succeeded in cooking
Italian and Chinese cuisines in the early 60s. How Mum and Dad loved
to entertain!
During her working career, Mum was employed by T. Eaton
Company in their mail order department. Perhaps due to her
unapologetic love of speed, she became their fastest typist, and
therefore, a top producer. She retired with over 23 years of loyal
service. From that point on, Mum and Dad enjoyed summers at their
cottage in New London, PEI, and winters in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
Mum and Dad made friends easily. They had a big circle of friends and
Mum was dedicated to staying in touch with all of them by making
regular telephone calls and maintaining a huge Christmas card list.
This was, of course, what was done before
“Facebook”.
She was a member of the First United Baptist Church in
Moncton and a member of the Evelyn Eaton Missionaries Group. For many
years she volunteered to look after the kids in the nursery while Dad
sang in the choir. They loved hockey and were avid members of the
junior hockey booster club. Together they took dance lessons, bowled
in the Imperial Tobacco League and volunteered at the Karing Kitchen.
And while they loved all animals, including dogs, they adored their
darling cats starting with Patches, followed by Cokey, Sheena and
Tiggy.
Mum loved her family and her family loved her. She will be
sadly missed forever by her two daughters and sons-in-law, Sharon and
her husband Rick Dunphy, and Nancy and her husband Terry Macklem;
grandson Patrick “PJ” Dunphy; great granddaughters Mackenzie
Kathleen Dunphy and Sarah Elizabeth Dunphy; sister-in-law Sherry
Smith; brothers-in-law Jim (Claudette) Smith and Jackie Smith; nieces
Donna Giddings, Judy Gallant, Janice Nowlan, Lynn LeBlanc, Susan
Buckley and Jill Guy; nephews Stewart Yeo, Dale Yeo, and Peter
Smith.
In addition to her parents, Jessie was predeceased by her
husband, Lloyd (1996), her brothers Byron Yeo and Gerald Yeo; niece
Fay Yeo; sisters-in-law Murielle Yeo, Ethel Yeo, Helen MacArthur, and
Norma Nowlan; brothers-in-law Winston Smith and Laurie
Smith.
Mum lived at Forest Dale Home in Riverside-Albert for the
past seven years due to age-related declining health and mobility.
There she received the most professional and compassionate care any
family could ever hope for. Over the past two years, she loved the
window visits. The staff and volunteers provided a happy environment
in which our mother found contentment and comfort, and for that we can
never thank them enough.
Respecting Mum’s wishes, there will be no
visitation or funeral. A graveside service will take place June 1,
2022, at the Methodist Cemetery in Central Lot 16. Mum and Dad loved
PEI and that is where they chose to rest, together, in
peace.
Cremation has taken place. Arrangements have been entrusted
to Fergusons Funeral Home, Mountain Road, Moncton. Donations in
Jessie’s memory can be made to Forest Dale Home
(www.forestdalehomefoundation.ca), SPCA, or donor’s
preference.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Jessie K Smith 1925 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Moncton, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick