R.I.P. Jettie. You Will Be So Missed.

Ah, my heart is made heavy by the loss of our Jettie. To call our Blue Dog unique is an understatement. She was a one of a kind firebrand of good humor, honesty, justice and generosity with a healthy disregard for authority. And by healthy I mean she had none.

Sure, she could be prickly if you inadvertently hit one of her hot buttons but she calmed down as quickly as she went off. With nary a disingenuous bone in her body you always knew where she stood.

A true independent product of Alberta’s prairies she could have been a cowgirl. Instead she followed her dreams all over the world with career stops in New York, London, Thailand and who knows where else. Yet ultimately the prairie girl was lured home where she made it her job to harass the local bureaucrats.

We’ll all continue to benefit from her contributions to our vocabulary. While she didn’t invent them all she did introduce them to our collective blog-speak: plonk, fur mops, the infamous “fek” and hence “Justi-fek” and a lot more that I forget.

Her mailbombs were legendary and guaranteed to bring a smile to the face of the recipient. I was a frequent recipient of her thoughtful packages and cards. Here’s a birthday card she sent one year that still makes me laugh whenever I run across it. It’s just so Jettie:

I have mementoes from her both here and in Park City: beer mats, Iditarod paraphernalia, refrigerator magnets and most recently all purpose hand knitted potholders/cleanup mops. Not to mention the handmade Blue Dog Christmas ornaments which are magnificent and will always be cherished.

One year I got a birthday package containing canned salmon (which she thoughtfully translated into American ounces), Canadian dried dill and Jettie-grown dried parsley (for the sauce that goes with salmon patties), maple syrup, almond nougat and many other goodies.

This year’s package contained Japanese sweets and Canadian Cheezies, far superior to Cheetos.

So here’s to Jettie: one of a kind, kind-hearted and genuine. Her spirit burned bright, sometimes hot,but always lit our lives making them a little bit better for it. You will never be forgotten.

I think Betty Anne’s description was perfect:

A woman without guile, generous and loving, soulful and truthful and without compare. She lived her life without flinching, fierce as a lioness, gentle as a lamb to those she loved. She was the meter, the weight and measure of truthfulness and honesty. She’s with Jesus now!

Source: http://www.michellesmirror.com/2024/11/rip-jettie-you-will-be-so-missed.html