Jean Marie Warkentin

With more grief than we knew we could hold in our hearts, we are here to tell you of the unexpected loss of our Jeanne. Wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and best friend. She passed away August 01, 2021 at Royal Columbian Hospital.

Jeanne was a woman of faith, integrity, and strength. She spent many of her younger adult years in ministry, putting others before herself in service. For the last handful of years she shifted her focus to her family and her farm. She had so much love for us, and it shone out through her actions and words.

She strove to fill her life and the lives of those around her with adventure, fun, and beauty. She found enjoyment in many things, especially in the things that interested those she loved. She loved working with her hands. She built many things, from chicken coops, to cedar rail fences (the company had told her it would require an entire crew to install, yet she did it entirely on her own), to her beautiful art shed. She had planned to fill her art shed with paintings and signs and pottery. She demolished her daughter’s kitchen and removed a wall all on her own. She worked side by side with her son when he started his reinforcing company, prefabbing columns with him. She cut paths with her husband through our property with chainsaws and machetes, creating adventure trails. She took great pride in her strength, and she was capable of anything. If she didn’t know how to do something she would ask to be left alone so she could “run her background programming” to figure it out, and sure enough we would return to find it completed to perfection.

One of her greatest strengths was her kindness. She had the capability of making you feel heard, important, and valued. She spent many years of her life counselling others through pain, lifting them up as only she could do. She changed many lives through her heart of service and her love for the Lord.

Her greatest goal in life was motherhood. She put that duty before all other things. She wanted all her children to have full and successful lives, and to experience all the good things this life has to offer. She gave them every opportunity imaginable. She strove to raise them all with well rounded capabilities, encouraging each one in their personal strengths. She celebrated and loved each one of them for their unique selves. We can’t imagine a better mother could exist in this world.

Jeanne treasured and loved her husband Ken more than you can imagine. She told us often that if she lost him she would never remarry, because there was no one else like him in this world. She continuously shared how grateful she was for a partner and best friend like him. He made all her dreams come true, and he provided her with everything she wanted from this world.

But most of all, she loved Jesus. While it is hard to imagine continuing this life without our Jeanne, our Desert Rose, it is a small comfort to know she is in the arms of our Lord. She is dancing with joy in Heaven, and someday we will be dancing there with her.

Jeanne has left behind her husband Ken, children Sarah, Daniel, Jennah, and Lazarus, son-in-law Mikhail, and grandchildren Florence and Brody.

Jeanne’s memorial service will be held on Monday, August 16th, at 12:00 noon. Please contact the Warkentin family if you would like to attend, and the location will be provided at that time. Due to guest number restrictions from the church, we respectfully request this be an adult only occasion. If you would like to send flowers you can send them to our farm. We can provide you with the address upon request.

You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.