Marion Jean Dick was a caring wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She left this world suddenly but in perfect peace in her sleep, on November 27, 2022 at age 90.
Jean was born to two Scottish doctors, Thomas and Marion Prentice, in Chacewater, Cornwall, England. Her father suddenly passed away when she was 2 years old and her mother returned home to Motherwell, Scotland with Jean and her new sister, Joy. In high school Jean played field hockey and won the science prize then went on to study Chemistry at Glasgow University. As a young woman Jean married Dr. T. Milne Dick, also from Motherwell, Scotland. They had a honeymoon in Paris and immigrated to Canada to raise a family of four. Jean was an exceedingly giving mother who loved well. She had a servant’s heart and met the needs of her family faithfully. She gave time to others without a second thought; she loved her church, and volunteering. She was also a dedicated and experimental cook with a large repertoire and made the best soup ever made in all of history.
While there is a beautiful mystery even in the ones we love most, there were certainties with Jean too: she loved the quiet gentle hours. Whether at a large window reading the morning paper beside a steaming black coffee with sunlight streaming through the golden sheers; or on a rocky beach, barefoot, with pants rolled up to her knees, paddling in the waves, and searching for the most beautiful shells or stones; or quietly knitting a sweater in the evening in her favourite armchair beneath the gentle glow of lamp. Quiet by nature, Jean was a gentle loving soul filled with peace and beauty. There was perhaps nothing that brought Jean more personal joy than gardens and woodlands, and simply being in nature. On a woodsy hike Jean would greet the trees and plants and call out their names as though they were old friends. She looked most at peace when beneath the flickering shade of a maple; or while clipping a lilac bush in the spring; or absorbing the delight of a fresh patch of forget-me-nots in bloom. It all delighted her. Jean loved creation.
Jean also loved her husband and children unfailingly and was loved by them in return. She gave comfort to all she met. She never put her own needs first, but instead attended to the needs of others. She believed in service. She was always sincere, very private, and uniquely stubborn at times - notably when you tried to help her.
Jean is survived by her children, Marion Langford, Caroline (Michael) Underhill, John Dick and Aileen (Greg) Fletcher and her grandchildren, Elizabeth, Thomas, Adam, Ainsley, Matthew (Jessie) and great-grandchild, Tully Underhill.
There will be a funeral service at St. Paul’s United Church, Midland Ontario, on December 6, 2022 at 11 A.M. Visitation will be available prior to the service at 10 am. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to hopefordementia.org or alzheimer.ca/on/en. The service will be broadcast live on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@st.paulsunitedchurch-midla2988
