Obituary of Jean Agnes Person

PERSON – Jean Jean Agnes Person, the youngest daughter of Edgar and Irene (Altstadt) Duvall, was born in Big River, Saskatchewan on September 21, 1965. Jean spent her youth in the Rabbit Bluff schoolhouse where she enjoyed biking the gravel roads and having sleepovers with friends. Jean started school in Debden in 1971; she often laughed about how she was accidentally enrolled in French immersion! In 1979, she moved with her family to Canwood on Main Street. She finished her schooling in 1983 at Canwood High School. In her teen years, she did a lot of babysitting and worked at the Co-op. She married Darrell James Person in 1984. She started working at the C&H Store until she became a mom on December 23, 1989, to Melissa Dawn. The following June they moved to Nordale and on October 16, 1991, had their son Dillon James. On March 17, 1994, she gave birth to their son Zachary William. A few months later they moved to Prince Albert on 32nd Street where the kids started school. During her time living in Prince Albert, she completed her G.E.D. and worked at SIAST in the evenings. She was known for throwing the best birthday parties and get-togethers for her kids, friends, and family. If you ever popped in at their house, you would likely see Jean making a craft with her kids, or elbow’s deep in her famous bun dough. In 1997, Jean and her family moved to 3rd Street East in Shellbrook. Jean and Darrell spent many happy years raising their children and going on many local adventures and camping trips. In 2004, they embarked on a new challenge of building their own home on an acreage on Highway 55. Jean worked at the nursing homes in both Shellbrook and Canwood as an Environmental Service Worker, Laundry Service Worker, and Dietary Aid for 17 years. In 2014, she joined Back to Your Roots Soil Solutions with Edible Get-Ables as the Market Garden Manager, where she helped to build the garden and greenhouse from the ground up. Jean was very proud of this accomplishment in the 6 years that she worked there. This was a testament of the hard worker she was all her life, and everyone knew that if you wanted a nice place to have a cup of coffee and buy some fresh vegetables, to go and visit Jean at the garden. Jean was known for being a teacher. This influenced her two eldest children who received Bachelor of Education degrees. Her youngest child received a Masters of Environment and Sustainability; influenced by Jean’s love for working in the dirt. She attended as many graduations, celebrations, recitals, performances, plays, and concerts that she could. Jean was always so proud of her children. In 2015, Darrell and Jean, now empty nesters, decided they wanted to move their lives to the property they owned in Blue Heron at Fish Lake. They bought a modular home, and with the help of the family, Fish Lake became the hub for many. In this time, Jean and Darrell began to vacation to the tropics and enjoyed seeing different parts of the world together. When they were home, Jean and Darrell could be found sitting on the deck watching the pelicans, around the fire with friends, riding the pontoon boat on hot days, or playing Crokinole and other games with their family. Jean was always ready with a hot cup of coffee and a smoke to discuss all of life’s mysteries and provide advice to those who asked (and sometimes those who didn’t!). Jean was best known for her playful pranks, her infectious laughter, and her zest for life. She was a problem-solver and often “MacGyver”- ed solutions to problems nobody else could solve. Jean wasn’t afraid to get her hands dirty and try a new recipe, a small building venture, or operate new equipment and tools. She was always trying to find the next best kitchen gadget to give to her siblings. She had a passion for facilitating fun experiences for her young nieces and nephews and the other little children in her life. They would catch frogs, color pictures, do scavenger hunts, and play many games together. Her friends would always laugh when she would invent her own ways of thinking about concepts which became affectionately known as “Jean-isms,” because she claimed she knew “almost everything.” She also had an uncanny intuition which she called her “ooga-booga” moments. Jean was predeceased by her father William Edgar Alexander Duvall, her mother Irene Louise Duvall, her infant brother Dale Edward Duvall, her father-in-law Lorne Person, and her brother-in-law Lorne Ashby. Jean will be thoroughly missed and remembered by her husband Darrell Person; her children Melissa (Cody) Chretien, Dillon Person (Marley Duckett), and Zachary Person; her siblings Sharon Ashby, Joyce Duvall, Susan (Dennis) Person, Janice (Sid) Bohmann, and Sheldon (Stacy) Duvall; her mother-in-law Dorothy Person; her sister-in-law Lenore (Dennis) Kuchirka; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews. A small graveside service will be held for close family and friends at Stump Lake Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of tributes, memorial donations may be made in memory of Jean to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Family and friends wishing to send online condolences are welcome to visit www.beaulacfuneralhome.com Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Beau “Lac” Funeral Home, Tammy Smart, Director, Shellbrook, SK. 306-747-2828.