Passed away peacefully in Nanaimo, BC, on January 22, 2017, at the age of 76.
Born in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Jeanne and family moved to Medicine Hat, Alberta, when she was a toddler. Her father, an RCMP officer, passed away in Holland in 1945 and Jeanne and her younger sister Bette-Ann were raised by her mother, Marjorie, and grandmother, Jennie.
After high school graduation, Jeanne completed her lab technician program in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Returning to Medicine Hat in 1960, she married Kenneth Wayne Lutes, also of Medicine Hat, a year later. In 1966, they made their home in Brooks, Alberta, raising two sons (Kenneth and Thomas) before retiring to Lantzville on Vancouver Island in 2004.
Jeanne was a tireless community volunteer and organizer and could be counted on to cheerfully chair or serve on many committees and boards, including fall fair, tourism board, summer games, library board, community police committee and food bank, among many others.
She served on the University of Lethbridge senate for eight years and, in 1992, was awarded a Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation by the Governor General, in recognition of her contributions to community.
Jeanne had a creative soul and enjoyed pottery, weaving and a variety of needlework. Once retired to a milder climate, she became an avid gardener and rose cultivator. She and Ken enjoyed entertaining old friends and making new ones in their new province, and lavished attention on her two granddaughters, Sofia and Isabela, and her beloved yorkies. A voracious reader, her table side was always stacked with a variety of non-fiction volumes, newspapers and magazines.
Jeanne is survived by her husband, sons Ken (Sally) and Thomas (Madeline) and granddaughters. A celebration of life reception is planned for February 25, 2017, in Lantzville, BC. Online condolences may be made at www.mem.com.
