It must be 50 years ago that I first met Jill, when we were taking our respective firstborns, Dickon and Adrienne, at the ages of about 9 months to a year old, to Gym and Swim classes at the Carlingwood Y.M.C.A.   And that was it, best friends from there on!

Then we started playing Bridge together, and going to the beach and canoeing and sleigh-rides, and various outings.  I hadn’t really remembered all the things we did until I looked through the albums, and also all the friends we made in the Stats Can Group, thanks to you - the Brackstones, Polly and Dave, and the Carpenters, and Anna and Geoff Hole - friendships that have continued to this day.

            Then Chris was born in August 1971, and you both very kindly agreed to be Godparents to him - and have been the BEST Godparents to him ever since, for which I have been MOST grateful to you both. You had been looking after Christopher for us, at about 9 months of age, when I had to go down to Guelph overnight to pass an oral inquisition to be allowed to practice as a Vet. in Ontario, and Chris just screamed all night and was diagnosed with Meningitis after we returned the next day and was hospitalized. That must have been very stressful for you both.

            Looking back, it is hard to realize that you were actually only in Canada for three years.  We  formed such a deep friendship that you were closer than some of our much scattered family, and no visit back to the U.K. was complete without seeing youse guys!

And, when you did go back, you took  a little piece of Canada with you  - Sarah, an adopted baby sister for Dickon, which was such an amazing example of Jill’s so very caring nature - to want to cherish and nurture a baby in need of a family.  And I shall never forget when you came back as a family to show the children Ottawa and other parts of Canada, and I was sleeping down in the basement bedroom, and Sarah calling down the stairs “ Jacqui, it’s Butterflies” - our favourite T.V. show at the time.   That room eventually became Geoff’s workshop, where he made all his lovely boxes - and which we have recently cleared out.

            Jill made a very kind decision in wanting to go back to the U.K. and be able to live near her Mother and have her involved in their lives whilst the children were growing up, and once they were in school she took the free time to do something for herself and very successfully developed her own career practice.  And  no doubt helped a great number of people with a variety of concerns.  I  think Tim also made a successful career for himself along the way!   And they had many wonderful holidays together, to varied and exotic locations.  And even survived playing golf together!

            Jill was such a lovely person and a life-long friend and we were always made so welcome when we stayed with them - with a varying number of children! - when we were home on our holidays in the U.K. - which has not been as frequent since all our parents have died.  A talented cook, a keen gardener, kind, sociable, fun and so very caring - a delight and a privilege have known and loved her.    Various of our children lived in the U.K. for a while and were also made welcome - I remember that our daughter was taken on holiday to France with them.  We always picked up where we left off, and I am just SO very glad that when I was “home” alone in September 2019 for a reunion - Geoff chose to go to Portugal with our daughter and her husband and his mother for a new experience and thoroughly enjoyed it!  -  my brother was able to drive me straight down from Heathrow to Brockenhurst where we met up with Jill and Tim at a Pub for lunch and pretty much picked up where we left off. Wonderful!

So our lives were entwined and enriched for over 50 years with a couple as kind an caring as Jill and Tim.    How lucky can you get?