With great sadness, we announce the passing of Jeanne McKelvie, a wonderful and loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother and loyal friend. She was born in Ocean Falls, B.C., the second child of Gladys and Jack Witten. Jeanne attended school in Ocean Falls until the family moved to Vancouver in 1941. She graduated from Lord Byng High School in 1950. After completing postgraduate commercial coursework, she worked at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce as a branch stenographer for 5 years until the birth of her first child.
She married the love of her life, Roy McKelvie in 1954. They had known each other since they were both four years of age. They were the best of friends and had a wonderful married life together for 66 years until Roy’s passing in 2020. Together they had three boys. The young family moved from Vancouver to Lethbridge to Montreal and then back to Vancouver in a space of 12 years due to Roy’s career at the YMCA. Jeanne was a stay-at-home mom until the boys were off to university. She went back to work at a Chartered Accounting firm then subsequently as an office manager at a Public Relations firm until fully retiring in 1995.
She frequently kept in touch socially with several of her high school and former work friends as well as friends from her years residing in Montreal. The final years of her life she resided at the Maple Residences in the Steveston community of Richmond where she made many new friends.
Jeanne always put family first and was a great mother and role model to her three sons. She will be sadly missed by her sons Greg (Susan), Gary (Lori) and Don (Suzanne), three much-loved grandchildren, Kate (Chris), Claire (Eric) and Ryan (Kim) and treasured great-grandchildren Caleb, Lincoln, William, Olivia, Kai and Fynn.
Thank you to the staff at Maple Residences, Ana’s Care and Home Support, family physician Dr. Adam Chang as well as the staff at Richmond Hospital.
Jeanne’s ashes will be interred at Ocean View Cemetery alongside Roy during a small family gathering at a future date. Jeanne would have asked that you please consider a donation to a health care charity of your choice.