Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

ICONIC YUKONER HONOURED – This was one of the sights at Wednesday’s memorial celebration for Jean Jamieson at the High Country Inn Convention Centre. Hundreds of people attended. Inset: Jamieson is seen at her 100th birthday celebration, held at the same place.

Yukoners mourn a beloved community fixture

To many, she was Mrs. Jamieson, a kind storekeeper and fixture in the Whitehorse community who had access to the best treats in town.

By Stephanie Waddell on February 27, 2015

To many, she was Mrs. Jamieson, a kind storekeeper and fixture in the Whitehorse community who had access to the best treats in town.

To those closest to her, though, she was Nanny, a family matriarch who was always there for “each and every one of us.”

That’s how Michael Tuton described his grandmother – his Nanny – Jean Jamieson Wednesday afternoon at the Yukon Convention Centre.

Friends, family members and long-time Yukoners gathered to remember and pay tribute to Jamieson, who died Feb. 19 at the age of 101. It’s believed she was the oldest member of the Tahltan Nation from the Crow clan.

Originally from Telegraph Creek, B.C., and named Jennie Frances Callbreath, she changed her first name to Jean. She did so thanks to teasing from her brothers, who called her “Jennie the Mule” since their father had a mule of that name.

She lived in Telegraph until Grade 6, when she moved to Wrangell, Alaska, for school. She then continued her education in Prince George, B.C., at St. Joseph’s convent, returning to Telegraph Creek during the summers.

It was in Telegraph Creek that her children Frances, Jimmy, Lois, Dick and Peggy were born before the family moved to Spruce Creek.

It was in 1947 she moved to Whitehorse, working at the Klondike Café on Main Street (where the T&M currently is) and the Blue Owl Café (now the site of the Bank of Montreal).

Jamieson started the Hollywood Café on Front Street which Harry Chan later bought from her.

It was here she met Roy Jamieson, her “future husband and love of her life,” as the family described him in an obituary for Wednesday’s memorial.

The couple had two more daughters, Fae and Geri, and opened both Jamieson’s grocery store and Jamieson’s Electric, “and the rest is history.”

Many Yukoners have fond childhood memories of going over to Jamieson’s and buying things they “weren’t supposed to have,” as former Yukon commissioner Ione Christensen recalled in an interview Thursday.

“She was a great lady,” Christensen said, describing Jamieson as a person “you can’t help but love.”

At the store each day, Jamieson was always up for a chat. Over the years, when they’d run into each other at the same social events (such as Rotary Club functions and the like), Christensen said she and Jamieson would always have a good talk and catch up with one another.

As Tuton told those gathered at Wednesday’s event, his grandmother loved a good visit with just about everyone.

“All throughout my life, I would meet people and, when speaking of my family and who I belonged to, I would proudly tell them Jean Jamieson is my grandmother,” he said.

“And more times than not, many more times than not, it would follow up with a story relating to a job in that store and how sweet my grandmother was.”

The Jamiesons also quietly provided for many in the community, not wanting to see anybody in need.

“I’ve heard people – well-respected people – tell me if it wasn’t for my grandmother, they may not have made it through a couple of winters,” Tuton said.

He shared years of memories from a childhood that literally let him be “a kid in a candy store” – to his Nanny’s laughter at a school prank to being one of many to have their first job in the store.

It was a “beautiful moment” when she held his daughter for the first time.

Tuton also spoke of travelling with his grandmother, arguing with her about directions and celebrations, like her 90th birthday.

“Ninety, that’s worth a party,” he said. “I remember her and her two friends sitting on a bench all night, sipping wine and (I was) thinking, ‘Wow, what a great lady. She did it right. If I make it to 90, I wish for nothing more than to be able to sit on a bench with my buddies and drink wine.’”

Later that evening, Tuton recalled, as he was helping her into his aunt’s truck to go home, she asked him if he was sure it was already time to go.

“Yes, Nanny, it’s midnight. It’s time to go home,” he recalled saying to his grandmother.

Just as he was so proud of his grandmother, Tuton noted his grandmother was proud of the entire family. It grew to include 31 grandchildren, 48 great-grandchildren, 24 great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great grandchild.

Speaking to his grandmother, Tuton said she will be forever “in our hearts.”

And though she will be greatly missed, “.... we will raise a glass to one of the strongest women the Yukon has ever known who truly lived life to the fullest.

“We will do our best to hang on to midnight.”

Mayor Dan Curtis said in an interview Thursday Jamieson’s legacy is clearly continuing, as her descendants have become “uber volunteers” in the community for various groups.

“I guess the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree,” he said.

The Jamiesons were honoured last year with a donation of the firefighter statue that now sits downtown from an artist who remembered their kindness from years ago.

Like many Yukoners, Curtis remembers Jamieson from his own childhood as “the lady behind the counter,” “always a kind person” at the store.

A fixture in the community, Jamieson’s quiet generosity to those around her and her contribution to Whitehorse will continue to be felt, he said.

Jamieson was also known for her political work as a long-time supporter and volunteer of the federal Conservative Party and Yukon Party.

Comments (6)

Up 1 Down 0

Penny & Glen on Mar 7, 2015 at 5:16 pm

My Dear Friend Jean!! I feel so blessed to have gotten to know you!! You always amazed me with the things you said and did! "The Queen of the North" I like to tell my friends & family! I even got to bring close family members to meet you & they still talk about you & your awesome personality & your wonderful family!! You truly were a very Dear Friend & will always be in my heart. I already miss our chats!!

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Appreciative hitch-hiker on Mar 5, 2015 at 4:06 pm

Circa 1966 - This was when hitch hiking was a valid mode of transportation (no mini buses yet). It would be very cold out and I'd be hitching out to PC coming from my girlfriends wearing only oxfords most of the time. (Had to be cool you know). Mrs. Jamieson would let me stand inside the store and warm up until I was ready to try some more. Smiling, she was always interested in chatting. Funny how you never forget an act of kindness. RIP Mrs Jamieson.

Up 2 Down 2

Terry Madley on Mar 4, 2015 at 2:09 pm

What more can YOU SAY that hasn't been said? Other than a SIMPLY AMAZING WOMAN and so was ROY.

Up 7 Down 2

Donnie and Gordon Peters on Feb 28, 2015 at 1:09 pm

Nanny Jamieson is our daughter in law's Nanny. We met this lively lady at the wedding of Jodi and our grandson. It was nice to read her history. We remember her just a grand person.

Up 8 Down 3

Josef and Isabella Reisenauer on Feb 28, 2015 at 9:29 am

Am very sad to hear .... they will always remain in my heart with beautiful memories
My condolences to all family members

Up 9 Down 3

bill williams on Feb 27, 2015 at 5:10 pm

I remember Jamiesons from my early childhood. Jean and Mrs. King were fixtures at the store. Remember taking my wagon full of pop bottles and trading them for a ton of candy. Jean was a great lady and always had a kind word unless we misbehaved then we got the tune up. A kind and generous woman a real Yukon pioneer and she will be sorely missed. RIP Jean you will always be in my childhood memories. PS. please say hi to Roy for me.

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