Marjory Jean Londry (nee McEachern)

LONDRY, Marjory Jean. Born Marjory Jean McEachern, September 20, 1940, in Kingston, Ontario; passed away October 27, 2025, in Canmore, Alberta. Known as “Jean” or “Jeannie”.

Greatly loved by all who knew her well, Jean Londry passed away quietly, from heart failure, with her son Michael at her bedside, at the Canmore Hospital in the Rocky Mountains of southern Alberta in the early hours of Monday, October 27, 2025, at the age of 85, and through the night had been attended to by the superbly caring medical staff of the hospital.

Jean was and is renowned among family and friends for her unfailing kindness, generosity, gentleness, hospitality, and love, as well as her inspiring creativity and curiosity, and her endless joy in living. Among those grieving are her son Dr Michael Londry; her grandchildren Duncan Londry and Tyler Londry; her niece Heather Frechette (with husband Mike Bratty and daughter Leona); cousin Grace Taylor (with son Dr Lucas Taylor); niece Lorna Drysdale and her partner Mick (sons Charley and Sam); and dear friends Catharine Findlay; Dorothy and Chuck Carline; Shelley Blackburn and Bruce Brinkworth; Leanne and Neil Dunne; and Elliott and Margie Bingham; and is grieved by many other dear relatives and friends, including her wide circle of art friends from her time with the Edmonton Art Gallery, and her fellow artists in the Canmore Art Guild.

Being the youngest sibling in her family, and one of the youngest of her generation in the family line, Jean was understandably predeceased by many, including her older siblings, her brother Neil McEachern and her sister Bunny Drysdale, and by Bunny’s husband Don Drysdale, O.B.E., as well as by her father Lisle McEachern, “Pop”, and her stepmother Helen. Her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Hilda and Harold Londry, and her aunt Elva Taylor, C.M., as well as aunt Lucy McEachern, also preceded her. Heartrendingly early, Jean lost her beloved mother, Lilian, in 1956, and her beloved husband, Jack (John Thomas Londry), in 1994.

Jean was educated partly in Glasgow, Scotland, when her father was stationed there as Canadian immigration officer for the region, and later at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, where she gained her Bachelor of Education degree with a concentration on art, studying under sculptor Peter Hide and painter Doug Haynes, who was also a family friend. For many years, Jean was a volunteer docent (tour guide / art instructor) at the Edmonton Art Gallery. Upon moving to Canmore, whose beautiful natural landscape brought her immense joy, she joined the Canmore Art Guild, and frequently exhibited her work (painting, collage, sculpture) in the guild’s gallery.

Her son Michael writes: “Mum was by nature so friendly and kind that often by the end of a five-minute taxi ride, she would have a new friend in the driver, and they would part with the heartiest of farewells. I accompanied her to an appointment for a CT scan in the hospital only a few weeks ago, and she could not have spent more than six minutes with the CT technician in the imaging room, and yet, at the end of the appointment, the technician felt compelled to turn to me to say emphatically, ‘I love your mother. She’s so sweet.’ Months ago, one of the head nurses in Calgary came round to ask Mum how she was doing, to see if she would like anything to be more comfortable, and within hours they were fast friends: the head nurse would come over during her break and with her cell phone she would share with Mum photos of her dogs and photos of flowers she particularly liked, and they would eagerly confer on these mutual enthusiasms.

Mum was a great gardener, and for many years, when Spring came, would get flowers from the local Canmore nursery, and grow them up on the front and back balconies of the house, caring for them diligently over Spring and Summer. The flowers would promptly flourish, and become extravagantly happy explosions of colour and life, brightening the neighbourhood like beacons. One of her favourite plants was an indoor plant, which she must have had for half a century, which we used to think was a Night-Blooming Cereus, though we were later told it was something else. It is a wild, sprawling tropical plant, which blooms very rarely, and only at night, but when it blooms the single, large, white, radially-symmetric flower blossoms so quickly, and looks so remarkable, that it seems as if it could not possibly have an Earthly origin.

One of Mum’s greatest joys was to host dear family members and friends in the beautiful home she created in Canmore. Having acquired the house while it was still under construction, she was able to make many of the final choices for the interior, including making sure there was a loft; and a continuous open space for the living room, dining room, and kitchen, ideal for hosting; and choosing a perfect (and unusual) hue of yellow-orange for the walls, which, when illuminated by lamplight, gave the home a distinctively warm gentle glow. Her hospitality was not just unforgettable; it was total.

An example: once my cousin Gary (who is dearly missed) surprised me by picking me up at the Calgary airport when I had come back to Canada from England for the first time since my mother had moved to the mountains. As we drove to Canmore, Mum called Gary on his cell to check to see if he approved of the food she was making for us for dinner. Gary handed the phone to me, and Mum regaled me with a list of scrumptious dishes that she was in the middle of making, which meant she had already gone far beyond the call of duty, and I assured her that of course we needed nothing else and that she must be sure not to go to any further trouble. But she insisted that I ask Gary if he needed anything else. I dutifully put the question to Gary, who replied matter-of-factly: ‘Yes, Macadamia nuts.’ I am virtually certain that Mum would have immediately driven into the town centre to seek Macadamia nuts if I had not used all my powers of persuasion to assure her that I could tell from Gary’s demeanour, his tone, and his mischievous smile, that he was completely joking, and that the several dishes she was currently preparing would be more than enough for all of us for the night.”

Marjory Jean Londry was a shining light. Her love is still with us, though her physical form no longer walks the Earth.

Reminiscences or condolences can be directed to the family c/o Michael Londry, No. 132, 200 Prospect Heights, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 3A3.