September 23, 2021
Jean was born in Cheshire, England in 1928. In her youth she attended an agricultural college in Rees Heath, Derbyshire during which time she became a keen hiker in the local dales. She married Norman in 1955 and in 1957 they emigrated to Canada, settling in Vancouver. Here again Jean became aware of the rich opportunities for hiking in the Fraser Valley. She took a course in Creative Writing, and together with a Brit retired teacher named Heather Robinson, set out to explore the local byways.
Out of this, with the invaluable guidance of publisher Greystone Books, was born the book "EASY HIKING AROUND VANCOUVER" with Heather the experienced guide and Jean the writer. EASY HIKING was an instant success and became even more so with eight future editions between 1980 and 2010, and Jean became known to thousands of readers.
Writing the book involved not only the writing, but walking the hikes continually to keep them up to date, and Jean led a group jokingly labelled The Easy Hikers, among whom were principally Ann Grant and Barbara Loewy, who provided support and assistance.
EASY HIKING was followed by "EASY CYCLING AROUND VANCOUVER", this time co-authored by husband Norman, with editions from 2002 to 2011. While out cycling these rides, they would frequently meet other cyclists using EASY CYCLING as their guide.
Jean passed away in the Czorny Alzheimer's Centre in the early hours of September 23rd.