Jennifer Catherine Hastie

November 3, 1939 – February 6, 2022

Jennifer Catherine Harley Hastie (nee Wright) passed away peacefully in Victoria General Hospital at the age of 82. She is survived by her husband of 59 years Bob, her children Gwen Attard (John) and Heather Hastie (Allan Benvin), her grandchildren Sophie and Claire Benvin, sister Dayle Wright, nieces Gillian Wright (Alan Cruikshank) and Nadine Wright (Drew Robertson), as well as her grand-nephews Curtis and Gif Wright. She was predeceased by her parents Max and Eleanor Wright, and brother John.

Born and raised in Port Alberni, BC, Jen was encouraged to attend the University of British Columbia after she graduated from high school. Once at university, Jen was hooked. By the end of first year she had learned to study and enjoyed her undergraduate years majoring in sociology and psychology. She graduated with a BA, and later a BSW.

Jen worked for both Catholic Children’s Aid and Vancouver Children’s Aid in Vancouver, as well as Hamilton Children’s Aid in Ontario. In 1967 Jen and Bob returned to the West Coast where they built a home on Sproat Lake in Port Alberni and began their family. During her 12 years at home raising their two daughters Jen became a professional potter, selling out of her home or at craft fairs, and made many beloved pottery buddies.

Jen returned to social work in 1980, working for Home Support first as a childcare worker and then as a supervisor. In 1987 she joined the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council to help implement the Council’s own child welfare program, making history as the first indigenous people to be given the right to do so.

In 1990 Jen became a counsellor at Port Alberni Family Guidance. She worked with teenagers and whomever the teens brought with them to counselling sessions. Jen retired in 1998 and she and Bob moved to Victoria in 2001. They spent many happy years in retirement travelling the world.

Jen always wanted to be known by the following epitaph, “She done what she could.” A memorial service will be held at the Church of Truth in Victoria at 2 pm on Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022.

More information and a link to join virtually will be available in the coming days. Please check back on this tribute site.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Victoria Hospice, a place Bob and Jen have been eternally grateful for their work in supporting friends through end of life.