JEANNE SIMS PEAREN

JEANNE SIMS PEAREN
Jeanne Sims Pearen, age 95 years, passed away peacefully in Ottawa on April 2, 2024 with Bayne, her beloved husband of 70 years and family near her side. Jeanne, the daughter of W.A. “Bill” Sims and Millie Stringer Sims, was born in Little Current and raised in the Sims family home, which later became Little Current’s first hospital building. Her grandfather Tom Sims, owner of many of eastern Manitoulin’s early 20th century mail steamers, was Little Current’s first mayor. Jeanne attended the Ontario Ladies College (Trafalgar Castle School) in Whitby and studied teaching at the Normal School in North Bay, where she was one of that institution’s youngest graduates. At age 17, she began teaching in rural schools including Honora Bay before settling in Port Arthur (Thunder Bay), Ontario, where she met her future husband. Marrying in 1953, Jeanne raised three children, Shelley, Todd (predeceased 1992) and Shawn, worked alongside her husband in their furniture and decorating company, was active in many community groups and returned to school to earn her Bachelor of Arts degree from Lakehead University, majoring in English. After retiring and relocating to Ottawa in 1987, Jeanne and Bayne enjoyed the following decades close to their two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, enjoyed world travel, vacationed at their Honora Bay summer home and volunteered actively with community organizations. A determined cancer survivor who also overcame COVID-19 in 2020, Jeanne is remembered as a tranquil, lifelong friend, and for her love of literature, music, history and cuisines of the world. In Jeanne’s honour, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or an organization of the donor’s choice.