She did not need a loud voice or grand stature to fill a room. Jean Henderson had a set of qualities that endured for all who knew her: intelligence, compassion, patience, loyalty and humour. Ask what her greatest accomplishment in life was and she would inevitably mention her four daughters, Anne, Karen, Debra and Jill. Jean cared deeply for family and was, as one of her eight grandchildren put it, a connection to everyone.
The fourth of five children born to Clara Jane and Frank Sydney Cooper, Jean came of age in England during the Second World War. During the Blitz, she was sent to northern Wales, one of nearly two million children uprooted from urban to rural settings. Though she remembered those days fondly, they left a deeper legacy. As a child of war, she knew the meaning of sacrifice. As a wife and mother, she faced every challenge with a calm demeanour, never losing her temper, knowing things could always be worse.
Jean's future husband, Bruce Henderson, then serving with the RCAF in Topcliffe, Yorkshire, endeared himself in his first letter, writing "Hi Blondie. Remember me, I'm the Canadian guy you met at a wedding." Not a particularly poetic line, but clearly one that worked. Jean and Bruce were married Dec. 1, 1945, and the following July, not yet 20, Jean sailed for Canada on the Aquitania, one of many war brides to arrive in Halifax Harbour.
Jean and Bruce spent their first years on Toronto's Algonquin Island, eventually settling in North York. Early 16mm films reveal a sprightly and beautiful Jean sharing first birthdays, Easter Sundays and sweet 16s with her daughters, and bit by bit softening that wonderful high British accent. When Jean and Bruce bought the family cottage on Muskoka's Lake Rosseau, the legend of Jean's perch upon the deck began. There, she enjoyed countless sunsets and happy hours, watching over her children and grandchildren and taking great satisfaction in her role as wife, mother and grandmother. To Jean, we were all special and unique. She treated each of us as individuals and, in showing no favouritism, lived every day the importance of family.
Jean maintained a sharp intellect and a fierce independence, never passing up a chance to play Scrabble and never complaining as her health began to fail. She was an accomplished seamstress, a skill she perfected with each of her daughters, who wore her "made-and-designed" label well into their 20s and 30s; an elegant dancer; and, in later years, a great listener, always providing useful and considered advice. Jean shone brightest when she was with family, making her last trips to England and Western Canada to visit family members following Bruce's death in 2005 of heart failure. Those who knew and loved her will remember the grace and strength with which she approached life, and the moderation which gave her life such charm.
By Debra Henderson, Jean's daughter, and Alan Wildeman, Jean's son-in-law.