June 17, 1935 - October 23, 2024
Jennifer Fletcher, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2024 at the age of 89 at Vancouver General Hospital after residing in Delta for the past three years.
Born on June 17, 1935 in Colchester, England, she lived a life filled with love, outdoor adventures, and travel. Jennifer started adventuring at an early age. Orphaned at 15, she studied shorthand and worked as a secretary to Agatha Christie's archaeologist
husband in London. She then travelled by steamship to Quebec, launching several years of working and travelling through the US. While Jennifer was working in Vancouver and saving to travel to Australia, she had a whirlwind romance with Alfred (Al) Fletcher,
marrying within 3 months of meeting. Jane and Mark were born in Penticton. Al's job with Texaco took them to Prince George in 1965, where they built a house and welcomed Elisabeth and Sara to the family.
Beloved dogs Rory, Silver and Muskwa, as well as cats Dudley, Jessica, Graycee and Tabitha were also important parts of Jennifer's life. Family life revolved around sailing and racing with the PG Yacht Club on Cluculz Lake, and skiing and racing at Purden Mountain. Jennifer provided secretarial support at the Child Development Centre and enjoyed playing tennis, sewing and knitting, listening to classical music, reading, and avoiding housework as well as forced social interactions. She would drop everything if the opportunity arose to have more exercise time outdoors.
After Al's death in 1982, Jennifer launched herself into hiking with the Caledonia Ramblers and skiing with the Sons of Norway Ski Touring Club. She joined hut-to-hut ski tours in Norway seven times, kayaked in Haida Gwaii, rafted the Tatshenshini River, canoed
the Turner and Bowron lake chains and Murtle Lake, as well as slept in a snow cave, biked forestry roads, and enjoyed countless other hiking, skiing, biking and paddling trips. Her travels included visits to Norway, Sweden, Austria, England, Scotland, Australia, India, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Botswana, China, Hawaii and many lakes, trails and roads throughout BC.
She is survived by her children Jane, Mark (Alison), Elisabeth (Nick) and Sara (Patrick), beloved grandchildren Chelsea (Ryan), Patrick (Allie), Nicola, Marliese, Nicholas, Owen and Aidan, and relatives in England.
She was predeceased by her parents, Edward and Ivy Banham, her husband Alfred, her brother Peter Banham, and fellow adventurer Bjorn. Her legacy of outdoor recreation and love of travel will live on in the hearts and activities of her family and friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Caledonia Ramblers, Humane Society, or the Prince George Public Library, to reflect her love of hiking, animals and books.
A Celebration of Life will be held at Otway Nordic Centre on Sunday, December 1st 2024, from 1:30-3:30 pm. Please drop by any time or stay for the duration. Speeches at 2:00 pm
Published by The Prince George Citizen from Nov. 6 to Dec. 5, 2024.
