Jean Anne Smith

To view the funeral service for the late Jean Smith, please follow the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/GoodSamANiC

Jean Anne Smith was born November 5^th, 1926, to Nathan (Grier) Grierson and Anne Grierson (Earnshaw) of Cambridge, Ontario.  Her father was a doctor and she grew up in house that was both residence and Doctor’s office.  She was close to her grandparents, especially Matthew Earnshaw, a saintly man who had emigrated from England to work at Tip Top Tailers in Toronto.  Matthew’s children – Mary, Aida, Anne, George and Nell – formed the nucleus of the Earnshaw clan that remained close for many years.  Growing up she was particularly close to Marg, Audrey, and Doris, sometimes known as the “Fab Four.”  She attended school in Cambridge, where she met lifelong friend, Maria Lemke.

Jean got her Bachelor’s degree at Victoria College in Toronto and followed up with a Master’s degree and later in life, a Master’s of Social Work.  At Victoria College she met Larry Smith, and they married in 1951.  This made her part of the Smith clan, with Larry’s brothers, Fred and Bryce, and their children.  At university, Larry and Jean made fast friends with George and Sue Barclay and Wally and Marjorie Ward.  As Larry’s teaching career unfolded, they lived in Sydenham, Belleville, Ingersoll and finally Etobicoke.  They had three children:  Kathy, David and Margaret.  Kathy now lives in Cabarete in the  Dominican Republic, David lives with Tracey Lloyd Smith and Carolyn and Larry in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with daughter Kathryn in Kingston.  Larry and Jean were with them in St. John’s until Jean’s death.  Margaret married Fred Shean and lived in Victoria before she died in 2022.

With the children growing up, Jean went back to university to study social work, and she became the director of the Etobicoke Volunteer Centre and then Volunteers Etobicoke.  This career meshed well with her continuing interest in the community of Etobicoke and a life-long passion for social justice.  Jean was a very social person and it is natural that she should have become a social worker.  She welcomed people into her life and loved and was loved by them.  Among her close friends were Jack and Lois Williamson, Murray and Setsu Welldon, Jack and Helen Heaney and Juan Jaramillo.  Jean took a lot of joy in life and especially in the many people who touched her life.  Her love started with Larry and her family, immediate and extended, and then reached out more widely.

Jean had a strong belief in and attachment to Jesus, which was expressed in a lifetime in the church.  She once said that she had done every job in the church except minister.  Her faith was the source of her passion for social justice, as well as her joy in life and love of other people.  It gave her strong convictions and strong opinions, but also an all-embracing attitude toward others.  In the end, God gave her the gift of an easy and peaceful passing.  She will truly be missed by many.

The funeral service for Jean Smith will be held on Friday, August 11th at 2pm over to the Good Samaritan Church. There will be an inurnment held at the Anglican cemetery on Forest Road to follow.