Jacquelyn Joan Martin

1930 ~ 2021

Jackie, as she was generally known, was the eldest of three children born to Jack and Nedra Martin during the Depression era of the 1930s. She was predeceased by her parents, and also her brother Dr. William Martin (Pat) of Vernon, BC. Jackie is survived by her sister Gayle Diehl (Eric) of Regina, Saskatchewan, her son William Hood (Lana) of Beausejour, Manitoba, her son Donald Hood of Vernon, BC, her grandson Robert Hood of Selkirk, and her grandson Brian Hood (Crystal) of Winnipeg.

Jackie grew up in the River Heights district of Winnipeg, and went on to live a very adventurous life. In her youth, she enjoyed skating, swimming and horseback riding. She loved animals and birds and the natural world. She was one of the first women to graduate from the Agriculture Department at the University of Manitoba. Degree in hand, a husband, and soon two children, Jackie set to the business of farming in the Basswood area, northwest of Minnedosa, Manitoba. Continuing her agricultural pursuits, the family relocated to a beautiful river lot just north of Selkirk, Manitoba, where they operated Hood’s Nursery, selling flowers, shrubs and trees to the public. Hood’s Nursery was well known in the nursery business in Manitoba through the 1960s, and Jackie was a media star, at least in the eyes of the tree nursery industry. She appeared several times on live TV, talking about plants and landscaping on CJAY’s Betty Jewell show.

Not content with only her BSc, Jackie returned to the University of Manitoba in the 1970s, obtaining a Teacher’s Certificate, and then an MSc in Agriculture. She wrote her thesis on trace metal uptake in soya beans. Her post-graduate degree then led to a federal civil service job in Ottawa, where she was involved in licensing of seed varieties and agricultural chemicals. On retirement, Jackie became a snowbird, alternating between summers at the cottage near Wakefield, Quebec, north of Ottawa, and winters in the sunny climes of Florida. On these seasonal trips back and forth, she often acted as the navigator of a small aircraft, always guiding them safely to their intended destination.

In her later years, Jackie returned to western Canada, where all of her extended family lived, settling into her comfy little condo in the Burgoyne Station complex in Beausejour, Manitoba. Jackie always enjoyed the potluck dinners, and especially her Wednesday afternoons with Doraine. Now Wednesday afternoons were supposed to be about the mundane matters of house cleaning and laundry, but they always seemed to find time for hot chocolate and donuts at Timmies and other establishments.

Jackie passed away peacefully at the Beausejour Hospital after a brief illness. Sobering Funeral Chapel has looked after arrangements. A graveside service will be held later this summer. Thus ends the great adventure that was Jacquelyn Martin’s long life, July 18, 1930, to April 9, 2021.  

www.soberingfuneralchapel.com

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