Monday, May 23, 2016
I thought it might be presumptive of me to speak at Jannine's memorial celebration since it has been over forty years since last saw her and everyone else there had known her so much longer. However, I think that the fact that I was there after forty years speaks volumes about the force of nature that Jannine was. She was vivacious, electric and unforgettable. I first met her when she was the school nurse at West Hill Collegiate when I was a student there. She had an open door policy that was very inviting and I often went in to "hang out" with her. Then I left to go to another school and to university. Jannine came back into my life through her partnership with Dave. I began my teaching career at Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate in Scarborough and Dave was the Head of the Math department there. We were a young staff and had a lot of social events. Jannine came to those events with Dave and I was again drawn to her magnetic personality. We both loved to sing and whenever someone would start playing a piano, we would both be there singing Broadway and folk songs. Jannine never held back a satirical or humorous comment and she kept me laughing whenever we were together. I had no idea that she lived in Kawartha Lakes, as I do too. When I saw the announcement in the paper, I felt I had to come to show my appreciation of a wonderful woman. I am glad I did.
