KIDDER, Jill
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Jill Kidder (born Jocelyn Mary Wilson). She died on June 1 at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops a few days after having suffered a stroke. We are happy to say she died exactly as she would have wanted – bravely, quickly and with minimal fuss. She was until the end, the same determined character that we all loved, and her wishes for a quick and gracious death were granted. Jill was born in 1923 and spent her childhood in Prince George, Vancouver, Ashcroft and Kamloops. She served in the RCAF during WWII, and went to Queen’s University after the war, where she met her husband Kendall. With Kendall, she spent her life all over Canada – from the Northwest Territories to BC to Quebec to Labrador and back many times, moving house, home and children over and over again, building new communities of friends wherever she was. For the last twenty-five years, she had been living in her much-beloved Dry Belt in Ashcroft, building her “Kiddergarden” oasis in the desert, working tirelessly in the Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop, pruning her Russian Olives, playing and moving rocks in the Bonaparte
River, camping with grandchildren at Juniper Beach, and taking time out to log a few hundred thousand
miles in van trips to visit family and friends around North America. Jill was never happier than she has been in the last few years in Ashcroft. She loved the land, she was very excited about the new friends she had made, she loved working in the Thrift Shop and getting everyone to recycle, and she particularly loved her little garden in her new apartment. The family wants to thank all of you who have sent your best wishes, and all of you who have offered to help. We also want to thank the people at the Ashcroft Hospital who helped mum when she had her stroke, and the fabulous, kind, empathetic nurses and doctors at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops. Jill was pre-deceased by her husband Kendall. She is survived by her sister Barbara Scott and Tony Scott, her brother Peter Wilson and Ruth Wislon; her children John, Margie, Annie, Michael and Peter; by her grandchildren Janet, Maggie, Orion, Kendall, Avery, Julia, Molly and Katie; by her niece Margie and her children, Sara and Hugh; by her great good friend Mary Parson and her son Graham; and by her four great-grandchildren, Maisie, Charlie, Oliver and Ava. She was loved by her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and by her many many friends. A memorial service was held in Vancouver on Monday, June 9th at 2 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church on 37th and Larch, and a celebration of her life will be held in Ashcroft on July 26th – we will put a notice in the paper about the exact time and place. Instead of cards or flowers, she would want everyone to make donations to her much-loved Hospital Auxiliary in Ashcroft. Please send them to: Ashcroft and District Health Auxiliary, P.O. Box 356, Ashcroft, B.C. V0K1A0 Any messages can be sent to
kidder@telus.net