Jane Faulkner

Jane was born Jane Edge in Stratford-upon-Avon. After some time in England and East Africa, Jane’s family immigrated to Canada. She grew up in Edmonton with brothers John, Richard and David. At the end of high school, Jane met and fell in love with William Wood. She married Bill and became Jane Wood. Jane gave birth to Niomi and the ‘enduring trio’ was formed. Jane’s incredible work ethic and dedication to her family allowed Bill to focus on his education in Edmonton and finish architecture school in Vancouver.

Jane loved Vancouver. She was a natural west coast girl and there were so many new things to experience. She blossomed, went to school, began to travel, discovered the joys of good coffee, took tai chi, and was first introduced to yoga. Encouraged by the heady ideas of women’s liberation, Jane changed her name to Jane Faulkner. She wanted to establish her own distinct identity.

Jane became a full-time student after moving to Calgary. She excelled at university and especially enjoyed her extended travel-study experience in Asia. Her time as a student displayed her ‘all-or-nothing’ attitude, as did the many incredible desserts she created during this time.

Jane was happy to move back to Vancouver where her passion for physical fitness led her to teach exercise classes and, eventually, a career in sport facilities management. Later, in Victoria, Jane re-discovered yoga, specifically the highly disciplined Iyengar approach.

Since Jane and Bill moved to Victoria over twenty-five years ago, they have lived in a variety of homes. Jane had very definite ideas of what she wanted in a home environment. Her modernist aesthetic and extraordinary organizational ability resulted in places that embodied a sense of order and calm. Recently, Jane and Bill found the perfect ‘tree house’ across from Beacon Hill Park. Jane’s wish was to live the rest of her life in what she called ‘our beautiful apartment’.

Everybody knew Jane as a high energy person who did things quickly and with clear purpose. This was often because she was running behind schedule! Jane was distinctive in many ways: wild red hair, sparkling green eyes, cute freckles and a beautiful smile. She had a unique sense of style and put a lot of thought into her fashion choices. Jane had a lovely voice, a great sense of humour and an easy laugh. She was considerate and kind, and always thought about the comfort and feelings of others. Jane made people feel at ease, largely because she was sincerely interested in what people had to say. She was very observant and was quick to give genuine compliments.

Jane has always had a keen appreciation of nature, art, food and music. She was able to experience the beauty in the world through her extensive travel, especially over the past decade. Jane was particularly moved by her trip to India.

Jane was a complex person. She was normally very frugal and has always been the consummate recycler, but could be extravagant when tempted by beautiful things. Jane was polite and soft-spoken, but could be feisty and tenacious when confronted with unfairness.

Jane loved words and language. She had a large vocabulary and was careful to use the right words to express her thoughts. Jane was witty and enjoyed engaging in word play.

When Niomi moved to Victoria several years ago, the ‘enduring trio’ was brought closer together. Jane was very supportive of Niomi, especially in developing and sustaining Niomi’s business venture. Jane loved promoting Niomi’s boutique and stopped by regularly to lend a hand and chat with Niomi and her staff.

Jane was healthy and vibrant until the day after she returned from a trip to Spain in mid-February. She began to experience mysterious stiffness and pain in her back. After weeks of addressing the pain as muscular, in late April, she was given the diagnosis of terminal cancer. From the moment Jane received the devastating news, she was very clear that her main priority was to spend as much time as possible with Bill and Niomi, the other two sides of her ‘enduring trio’. Bill and Niomi honoured her request by spending the last weeks of her life with her and were by her side when she passed away.

Jane was extremely brave and faced her illness with grace and humour. Bill and Niomi feel very fortunate to have shared precious moments discussing the past and what she wanted for them in the future. Jane insisted that Bill and Niomi promise to look after each other. She also told Niomi that everyone should take time to enjoy all aspects of life and not to get bogged down with minutiae. Her main message was that we should all strive to achieve balance in our lives.

Jane was deeply loved and will be missed. We encourage you to include your thoughts, memories and photographs of our Jane.

Donations in Jane’s memory can be made to the David Suzuki Foundation, the Iyengar Yoga Centre of Victoria or the Victoria Hospice Society.