Jennifer Louise Rule
December 1st, 2018
Jennifer Rule passed away peacefully in her 72nd year on December 1, 2018 at St. John Hospice, Vancouver. She leaves her sister Stephanie Howard (Brian Purdy) of Calgary; a nephew Joshua Howard of Bali, Indonesia; and a niece Jessica Howard (Ben Yoskovitz) of Toronto and their children Samuel and Quinn. She is also survived by cousins in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Fort St. James and Nashville, TN as well as long-time friends Kerry Longpre, Susan Carlson, Astrid Courtemanche, Vicki Collins, Bonnie Price, and Karman Harrop.
Jennifer grew up in Edmonton and attended Oliver and Victoria Composite schools as well as Alberta College. She was predeceased by her parents John and Isabel (Yockney) Rule. Jennifer worked for AGT in Edmonton and for BCTel/Telus for 31 years in Vancouver. After retirement she worked for Gazebo Gift Shop in Richmond and was a tireless volunteer for the Pacific Open Heart Association.
A gregarious, generous and fun-loving person, Jen had an indomitable spirit and in spite of many years of health challenges she managed to stay positive and never lost her sense of humour. She fought valiantly to overcome lung cancer, COPD and heart problems and did not let pulling an oxygen tank behind her interfere with having a full life. She had a huge circle of friends and family that she faithfully kept in touch with. We are all left with wonderful memories of adventures, workplace humour and hilarity and will miss her cheery “toodaloo”.
Special thanks to Dr. Kenneth Chan, Dr. Saul Isserow, Dr. Tawimus Shaipanich, Dr. Kenneth Evans, Dr. John Yee, Dr. Janessa Laskin and the Palliative Care team at VGH for their compassionate and informed care. Thanks also to Jaqua Page and Deborah Kelly whose support was unconditional. The staff at St. John Hospice provided outstanding end-of-life care in a calm, warm and comfortable setting.
A Celebration of Jennifer’s life will be held from 2 - 4 pm on December 27th in the Sylvia Hotel Dining Room, 1154 Gifford Street, Vancouver.
You are invited to leave a personal message of condolence for the family.
Messages:
Jennifer was one of the most dedicated volunteers for the UBC medical school and played an important role in the education of many students over the years. It was a delight to spend time with her; her sense of humour was great and her laugh was big and infectious. Jennifer was always generous with her time and demonstrated such grace as her health deteriorated. She will be remembered and very much missed. My thoughts are with you at this very sad time.
Dear Stephanie, I am so sorry for your loss and my heart goes out to you and your family. May the memories you hold dear of Jennifer give you some peace and comfort in this time of sorrow.
Stephanie and Family, Jennifer's genuously joyous smile radiated to all in our aqua rehabilitation pool. Its image will ever radiates through my heart.
Oh dear Jen, we gals here in Edmonton are sure going to miss you and your visits here
I knew Nifer as her father called her when she was a teenager, a couple of years younger than me. She was athletic & enjoyed the facilities at the Royal Glenora family sports club in Edmonton, where I played tennis, badminton & squash. Drivers licences added a dimension to our social lives that included going out to Friday night teen dances. We hung out in the same party crowd at the University of Alberta. Jennifer had loads of charm. She loved music, and was a super dancer. It was always special to see her & enjoy her company.
A few years ago, Jennifer used to come to the cafe I worked in very often. I remember when she first had the oxygen tank with her and how concerned the whole team was. She would come every Saturday and I'd put aside the flavour of doughnut she loved to make sure it wouldn't sell out before she arrived. There was another regular customer her and I both quite disliked and would always make jokes about him. Whenever she was absent a week, our hearts sank but she always came the week after and would make a joke about what we were all thinking. Eventually, I didn't see her again and after a while the reality set in. Jennifer was a fantastic soul and was always cheery and hilarious until the last time I saw her. She's always stayed in my mind and I am so happy to have found this page years later. I always wanted to tell her family how fantastic we all thought she was.