Jane Anne Sword Le Ber

“Absent from the body, present with the Lord.”

Jane passed away peacefully at the age of 96 years after a difficult, nearly decade-long journey with dementia. She has joined her faithful husband Bill (1927 – 2016) and her baby daughter Elizabeth (1954 – 1956). Left to grieve her loss are her two children, Suzanne (Peter) Mogan from Vancouver and James “Jim” (Marlene Janzen) Le Ber from London. Jane was fondly known as Nana by her five grandchildren: Robyn (Noah) Bright, Katie (Will) Graham, Fraser, Gavin (Becca Minielly) and Lou Le Ber. She loved being a mother and a grandmother and was delighted to live long enough to become a great-grandmother to Finnian, Elowyn, Fife and Beatrice-Jane.

Still with us are her brother Ian (Diane) Sword, sisters-in-law Barbara Hibbs and Mary Davies as well as nieces, nephews and cousins whom she loved.

Our mother, Jane Sword, was born in Toronto to Adelaide (a pediatric nurse) and Hal Sword, a businessman (owner of “Sword’s Haberdashery & Cravats”). She was an only child until the age of 13, when her brother Ian came along. Earlier, at the age of 3 years, Mom contracted Scarlet Fever from a visiting relative, which left her with a lifelong, serious hearing impairment. Consequently, her elementary schooling included several years in a special class for the hard-of-hearing. Our mother never wanted to be different. To manage her communication challenges and to fit in, she became an adept lip reader and a keen observer of people.

For high school, Mom attended a small, private Christian girls’ school, Moulton College. Here, the only accommodation for her disability was a seat at the front of each classroom so she could see the teacher’s face.

After graduating from high school in 1948, Mom went on to study Home Economics for a year at MacDonald Hall on the campus of what is now the University of Guelph. There, Mom met her “soulmate,” an Agricultural College student named Bill Le Ber. Legend has it he wooed her with his sense of humour, and she won his heart with her roasted chicken. They married shortly after graduation and started a married life of mutual support that would last 64 years.

Mom and Dad first lived in Toronto and then Perth, later moving to Brampton, Ontario, and finally settling in St. Catharines for the duration of Dad’s high school teaching career. Mom fully embraced the role of “homemaker.” Caring for her children, husband and home, cooking, baking, preserving, jam-making, sewing, knitting, smocking, crocheting, gardening, churchgoing, hosting, and later scrapbooking, card-playing and curling kept her busy and her life full.

Her first child, a daughter, Suzanne “Suzi,” was born in 1952, followed by a second daughter, Elizabeth, in 1954. Tragically, Elizabeth died at 14 months of age from an accident in the home. Mom and Dad mourned deeply and turned to friends, their church and their faith for comfort. Their third child, James “Jamie” (Jim), was born in 1958 – a long-awaited answer to prayer that filled the void.

Our family of four had many summer adventures together — camping in the sand dunes of Ipperwash, road-tripping to Expo 67 in Montreal and summers at Mom’s “happy place” – the family cottage on Lake-of-Bays in Muskoka. After Dad’s retirement, she enjoyed numerous cruises and trips with him to foreign lands. During this time, they moved their home to the village of Ilderton and, later, to the city of London to be closer to family as their health faltered.

Our mother, Jane, was a survivor. In her senior years, she experienced a stroke and had open-heart surgery at 80, followed by a bout of cancer (melanoma). She became a widow at 87, living alone for the first time in her life, and then Covid hit. The widespread use of face masks and face shields cut off her primary means of communication (lip reading and facial expression). Family and friends tried to support her in her isolation before her eventual move to Assisted Living and then Long-Term Care. Progressive dementia was her last challenge.

Our family has greatly appreciated the compassionate care and attention of many professionals these last number of years (Mary Anderson RN, Dr. Andrew Whynot, the Kensington Village Long-Term Care Home staff, the Geriatric Mental Health Team LHSC), as well as the pastoral visits of Wilma and Wesley Prescod and Pastor Paul McIlwraith from her North Park church. A constant source of practical and emotional support has been our mother’s personal companion of many years, whom Mom came to view as family, Ann Prendergast.

A Service of Remembrance will be held at North Park Community Church, 1510 Fanshawe Park Rd., London, on Friday, February 21^st at 4:00 pm, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to North Park Community Church or London Health Sciences Foundation.