In memoriam Marie-Jeanne 

A woman of extraordinary beauty, courage and intelligence. 

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Named and raised in her early years by her French grandmother, Marie-Jeanne (Maria) was joyful, fiery, unstoppable and unbound by rules, standards and limitations.  She was first in class from primary throughout college, danced, did parachute jumping, was junior national champion at track&field, and won a bet for eating most "spumoase",  a cake made with strawberry cream - I think they were19.  She could not finish the last.  

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She wanted to go to medicine, but ended up a structural engineer - it matched her personality, resistant through all life challenges.  She fought for buildings that would ensure quality and comfort in a system that was trying to nullify everyone and everything.  She never gave up, and made her way through with jokes, humor, and an unbeatable signature of no nonsense. 

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She spoke 5 languages and was not shy about picking up a new one and conversing friendly with complete strangers.  She loved "bouquins" and built an endless library in our house.  

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My mom was also the ultimate nurturer.  All my friends visiting the house would end up "in the kitchen", chatting with her.

She left a "trail of sweaters" she knit not just for her immediate family, but her nephews, nieces, and many of my friends from Canada to Southern California.   I moved across N America with a dog and no less than 22 sweaters knit by my mother.

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One of my favorite memories of her is when she came home earlier than usual one day - she was walking across the playground in "a field of light", and I though she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. 

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She was a tigress too: once we were caught in a sudden snowstorm, driving in the mountains.   A child, I was in the backseat watching in awe:  my dad was steering with absolutely unperturbable calm, while my mother stepped outside in the heavy snow, wiping the windshield with her hand, and walked at the edge of the cliff  between the car and the abyss below - for what felt like hours, guiding and protecting the car and her family.  

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She had an incredible mathematical intelligence and memory, and remembered all her life poems she had learned in high school.   During the pandemic we spent a lot of time recording her reciting and telling jokes.  And she wrote her own poems too, of a sensibility that I had the privilege to encourage and witness.  

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I am pretty sure my mother was born out of an explosive supernova: she was radiant, loving, explosive, she spoke her mind and did not leave anything undone.  She lived with passion and gusto and laughter.   When she left, a new star was born in the sky.   

 

She is still with us, laughing and nurturing and guiding, in her unbeatable humor, energy and beauty.  And she and I have many more projects to complete together. 

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If you have a story you would like to share, or a picture, please send me a note.  It would be a joy to track her through the memories she left.