Jeannine McDonell is an aquaciser, one of a gregarious group whose pool time at North Vancouver's Harry Jerome centre is followed by a warming cup of coffee next door at Silver Harbour Seniors' Activity Centre.
"We aquaciser gals consider ourselves 'spirit sisters' and we support each other in our lives," says Carolee Chute, an instructor turned participant and aquacise booster. "Many of the gals are widows and many have been through chemo, some more than once. We are a great group of ladies and not cliquey - everyone is welcome in the pool!" Jeannine knew nothing about the group and only slightly more about water fitness when she joined.
Her plan was to add organized exercise to her regular walks and so she has, every Tuesday morning for the past seven years.
No stranger to illness herself, Jeannine has learned to transmute the difficult into the positive.
Of her husband Don, who died in 2003, she values the extra years they had together. During her own bouts with ill health, Jeannine stayed confident.
"I was going to make it, no question of that," she says.
Born in Glenmore, outside Kelowna, Jeannine Henderson grew up working and playing in the family orchards. Loving the outdoor life but not keen to be an orchardist's wife, Jeannine was all the way across the country in Montreal, Que., when she met and married Don McDonell. Ten years later, in 1962, they returned to the West, camping as
they went, car loaded with tent and sleeping bags, a propane stove and their three children.
The family found a home in a neighbourhood with the necessary criteria - bathroom and a half, corner store nearby, bus route - in North Vancouver. Their house, one of five built by Oliver Holmes on Grand Boulevard between 15th and 17th streets, would be the McDonells' home for the next 50 years.
Once the children were in high school, Jeannine worked as secretary at St. Edmund's Catholic School from 1978 to 1988 and at the archdiocese office in Vancouver. She retired in November 1995 and was volunteering with the Auxiliary to the Lions Gate Hospital two months later.
Jeannine's contributions to her community run to the practical, from the auxiliary to the man who opened the door for her at the Harvest Project one day. For this courtesy, the man received Don's coat. "He needed a coat and I had one to give. That's what we're all supposed to do, isn't it?" she says.
As Jeannine tells this story, she's holding a ball of dense dark grey wool and a hat half-knit on a pair of needles.
"I'm knitting for the Mission to Seafarers so these hats have to be sturdy. Knitting for the mission is one of my favourite projects," she says.
The list of community organizations Jeannine supports runs long. In winter, she is rarely without some knitting on the go.
She and her fellow needle wielders at The Summerhill have just completed a marathon of knitting.
"This year we made enough hats and scarves to give to the Lookout (Shelter) and the Harvest Project and to sell in-house. We were floored. We made over $1,000," she says.
Every dollar of that will make its way into the community.
As I reviewed my notes for Jeannine's profile, St. Edmund's school rang a little bell. Teresita Landingen, whose story ran in this column June 30, was happy to confirm my hunch that she and Jeannine were colleagues at "St. Ed's."
Teresita shared fond memories of Jeannine, her helpful nature and big smile, and added a twist to the tale. Teresita's story was the catalyst for their reconnection.
Jeannine had wanted to call ever since she read about Teresita. "I've kept the paper beside my bed to remind me," she says.
Teresita picks up the thread. "We said we're going to meet one of these days and now that will happen."
Jeannine uses her time and talent to support her community. Teresita sends her support across an ocean to the Philippines.
That's what happens when the generous, the practical and the positive among us respond to the challenges of life. A spark is kindled at work, at a knitting circle or an aquacise class, and the light warms friends, family and those in need.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275 [email protected]
