Obituary for Jean Hancock (Nichols)
Jean Edythe Hancock (nee Nichols; formerly Liscum, Lean) passed away peacefully, at the age of 95, at Peterborough Regional Health Centre on Sunday, April 18, 2021.
Jean was born on July 9th, 1925 in Chatham, Ontario, but spent most of her childhood in the Apsley area. Life was not always easy growing up, but Jean always persevered and tried to make the best of every situation. Whether she was helping her father deliver groceries as a child, working to earn her room and board in Lakefield so that she could attend high school, or inspecting wire for the Inspection Board during WW2, Jean never shied away from hard work.
In 1946, Jean answered an ad in the newspaper and accepted her first teaching job at the one-room schoolhouse in Owenbrook. She would later earn her teaching qualifications by taking summer courses at the Toronto Normal School. She taught at two more one-room schoolhouses in Clydesdale and Cottelsoe before settling into teaching junior grades at Warsaw Public School and Parkhill Public School. Jean was a creative and innovative educator whose special talent was making connections with struggling students. She particularly enjoyed the years that she spent teaching speech therapy and reading intervention. Nothing delighted Jean more than running into one of her former students and finding out what they had been up to.
Jean loved picking berries, fishing, playing euchre, birdwatching, baking, making quilts, crocheting hand towels, yard sales, peanut butter, reading, traveling, and being physically active. At Royal Gardens, she frequently participated in activities and could somehow remember the poems and songs of her youth, long after her memory started to fade. Above all else, she loved her large extended family and cherished every visit, phone call, letter, card, email, and Facebook message that she received.
Jean is survived by her daughter Karen Pick (Dan); her step-children Irene James, Janet Lean (Larry), Bob Lean (Elaine), and John Lean (Marg); her grandchildren Jennifer, Vanessa, Josh, Anica, Alan, Paige, Rob, and Michelle; her 9 great-grandchildren; her sister Lynda Ball; her sister-in-law Nancy Nichols, former sister-in-law Marilyn Nichols; and her many nieces, nephews, and extended family.
She is preceded in death by her parents Glen Nichols and Mary Jane Nichols (Tanner); her husbands Wilbert Lean and Francis Hancock; her ex-husband Ted Liscum; her son-in-law Eric James, her siblings Ruth Rexe (John), Mary Lou Howitt (Jim), Elizabeth Lillico (Trevor), Phil Nichols (Pat), and David Nichols; and her brother-in-law Donald Ball.
The family would like to thank the staff of Royal Gardens, who took such good care of Jean over the past 15 years, and the staff of PRHC, who helped make her final days more comfortable.
Due to COVID-19, a private family interment will take place. A Celebration of Life will be planned at a later date, when circumstances allow.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to Food For Kids Peterborough would be appreciated.
Jean was born on July 9th, 1925 in Chatham, Ontario, but spent most of her childhood in the Apsley area. Life was not always easy growing up, but Jean always persevered and tried to make the best of every situation. Whether she was helping her father deliver groceries as a child, working to earn her room and board in Lakefield so that she could attend high school, or inspecting wire for the Inspection Board during WW2, Jean never shied away from hard work.
In 1946, Jean answered an ad in the newspaper and accepted her first teaching job at the one-room schoolhouse in Owenbrook. She would later earn her teaching qualifications by taking summer courses at the Toronto Normal School. She taught at two more one-room schoolhouses in Clydesdale and Cottelsoe before settling into teaching junior grades at Warsaw Public School and Parkhill Public School. Jean was a creative and innovative educator whose special talent was making connections with struggling students. She particularly enjoyed the years that she spent teaching speech therapy and reading intervention. Nothing delighted Jean more than running into one of her former students and finding out what they had been up to.
Jean loved picking berries, fishing, playing euchre, birdwatching, baking, making quilts, crocheting hand towels, yard sales, peanut butter, reading, traveling, and being physically active. At Royal Gardens, she frequently participated in activities and could somehow remember the poems and songs of her youth, long after her memory started to fade. Above all else, she loved her large extended family and cherished every visit, phone call, letter, card, email, and Facebook message that she received.
Jean is survived by her daughter Karen Pick (Dan); her step-children Irene James, Janet Lean (Larry), Bob Lean (Elaine), and John Lean (Marg); her grandchildren Jennifer, Vanessa, Josh, Anica, Alan, Paige, Rob, and Michelle; her 9 great-grandchildren; her sister Lynda Ball; her sister-in-law Nancy Nichols, former sister-in-law Marilyn Nichols; and her many nieces, nephews, and extended family.
She is preceded in death by her parents Glen Nichols and Mary Jane Nichols (Tanner); her husbands Wilbert Lean and Francis Hancock; her ex-husband Ted Liscum; her son-in-law Eric James, her siblings Ruth Rexe (John), Mary Lou Howitt (Jim), Elizabeth Lillico (Trevor), Phil Nichols (Pat), and David Nichols; and her brother-in-law Donald Ball.
The family would like to thank the staff of Royal Gardens, who took such good care of Jean over the past 15 years, and the staff of PRHC, who helped make her final days more comfortable.
Due to COVID-19, a private family interment will take place. A Celebration of Life will be planned at a later date, when circumstances allow.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to Food For Kids Peterborough would be appreciated.