Obituary of Jean Marjorie Emberley

August 31, 1925 – York, United Kingdom

September 28, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta

Jean Emberley (nee Payne), widow of Sidney Emberley (d. 2002) and William Hunter (d. 1951) lived mainly in the UK and Ontario, Canada. She passed away at the age of 99 years on Saturday, September 28, 2024, in Calgary, AB.

Born in York, England, Jean was a multiple emigrant and inveterate traveller, arriving in Canada in the 1960s after 16 years of military service in the UK with the WRENS, WRAF, RNZAF, and the RAF. The daughter of Jack and Phyllis Payne, she was the older sister to Josephine ‘Joe’ Simpson.

From 1936 to 1941, Jean attended St. Christopher Co-Educational Independent Boarding School in Letchworth. She went on to study Institutional Management at the National Council of Domestic Studies at London University, graduating in 1944. She then entered the WRENs and completed her officer training with the WRAF. In 1945, she married William Hunter (1921-1951), who at that time was with the Royal New Zealand Air Force in the UK. They left the forces and moved to New Zealand, where they lived until 1948. When her husband then joined the RAF, Jean was posted with him to what was then Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. After he died in 1951, she returned to the UK. Then, after a brief visit to New Zealand, she returned to England.

Jean completed a teaching certificate at London University in catering and nutrition, and in the 1990s, she received her BSc in Nutrition from London South Bank University. From 1953-1954 she held a commission in the Women’s Royal Air Force Catering Branch as a Flying Officer which is when she met and married Sidney Emberley (1920-2002). They were stationed in Germany for three years and left for Canada in 1960. Jean and Sidney raised their family in Hamilton and then in Ancaster, ON. Later Jean moved to Toronto, ON, and in 2019 to Calgary, AB.

Jean became a committed advocate for the rights of women and children, beginning with her work in the 1970s with Second Stage Housing. In 1975, she became a member of the National Council of Women. From 1978-1982, Jean was President of the Hamilton Council of Women and, from 1980-1982, Vice-President of Legislation, Multi-Culturalism, and International Affairs for the Provincial Council. During her work with the NCW, she wrote the Children in Canada Report, published in 1978 by McMaster University, during “The Year of the Child.” She was also a member of the Elizabeth Fry Society and then a member of the English-Speaking Union from 1987 to 2014.

As a teenager, Jean was passionate about performing and pursued her love of acting with the RAF, the Hamilton Players' Guild, and McMaster University. She loved to travel, and after Sidney’s retirement, they journeyed to Turkey, Egypt, Costa Rica, China, and Spain for holidays away from the Canadian winter. Jean also traveled to the UK and throughout the USA and Canada. After Sidney died in 2002, she continued to travel to, among other places, South America, Pakistan, the Maldives, and again to New Zealand.

Jean is survived by her daughters Alexandra Emberley, Julia Emberley, and Lynette Hunter; her son Adrian Emberley, her niece Karen Cooke, her grandchildren, Sophie Korkmaz, Andrew Lichtenfels, and Alex Lichtenfels; and four great-grandchildren, Benedict, Matias, Daniel, and Beatriz.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Jean’s family here

In living memory of Jean Emberley, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Heritage, 1708 – 16th Avenue NW, Calgary, AB, T2M 0L7, Telephone: 403-299-0100.