Obituary of Jean Emma Beattie

BEATTIE: Jean Emma Beattie of Brandon, Manitoba passed away on June 11, 2015. She was born in Kamsack, SK on June 26, 1934, and raised on the family farm near Makaroff, MB. Mom enjoyed growing up in Makaroff, and shared many stories with her children about the life and times of growing up in rural Manitoba. After high school, Jean attended the United College in Winnipeg to become an X-ray technician and then worked in Melfort, SK. She subsequently obtained a Bachelors of Arts Degree from the University of Saskatchewan, and moved to Dauphin where she worked as a social worker until the mid-1980's, when she attended the University of Manitoba to get her Degree in Social Work. After obtaining her degree, she moved to Brandon and worked as a social worker with the Manitoba Government until she retired. Jean was married and raised two children, Diane Tkachyk (née Robinson) and Gilbert Robinson. Mom loved to spend time with family and friends and enjoyed a good party all her life. She spent many hours researching her family history and connecting with relatives across Canada and in Scotland. She helped out in the communities she lived in by volunteering for organizations such as, Dauphin Boy Scouts, the Western Canadian Aviation Museum and the Brandon Art Gallery. She enjoyed reciting poetry and public speaking and spent a number of years with Toast Mistress. Despite being a ruthless gopher trapper when she was on the farm, she also loved animals and enjoyed her dogs Zina and Ruby. Jean was predeceased by her sisters Wilma Cowling, Roberta Kasprick and her parents Wilfred and Helen Beattie. She is survived by her daughter Diane (Brian) Tkachyk and their children Shelly and Grant of Calgary and her son Gilbert (Marlene) Robinson of Winnipeg, her sister Evelyn Rheaume of Portage la Prairie and brother Douglas Beattie of Makaroff, she has many nieces and nephews that will remember Aunty Jean and her colorful personality. The funeral service will be held in Roblin, MB at the Nairn-Chyz Funeral Home, 325 Main Street, on Saturday, June 20, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. A reception will follow the service. A private interment will take place at the Makaroff Cemetery. The pallbearers will be Douglas and Warren Beattie, Bruce Cowling, Tim and Michael Kasprick and Grant Tkachyk. In lieu of flowers, or gifts, donations can be made to the Manitoba Lung Association, 8-940 Princess Avenue, Brandon, MB, R7A 0P6.