May 15, 1933 - Dec 21, 2017
"Music is love in search of a word" - Sidney Lanier
Our bold and brilliant matriarch, Jacqueline Marie Droz, leaves half sisters: Alexina, Barbara and half brother, Wolfgang; five children: Deborah, Valerie, Madeleine, Sarah and Timothy; six grandchildren: Ryan, Zoe, Chloe, Caleb, Taylor and Ashlee; seven great grandchildren: Carter, Jack, Adele, Emily, Ruby, Huck and Jubilee; and recently married spouse Duncan Ker.
Jacqueline led an extraordinary life. She was born in London where she graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1957. Pregnant with nothing but a small bag, she joined her then husband, Michael Wood, settling in Vancouver. Between 1957 and 1963 she gave birth to four girls.
The first possession purchased was a piano so she could teach private classes. In 1966 the family moved to Victoria where the youngest, a son, was born. Jacquie began teaching at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and continued to give private piano classes and play for ballet classes. She also founded the Ars Nova Chamber Ensemble and accompanied young soloists for their music exams.
In 1970 Jacquie moved with her five children to Shawnigan Lake where she taught at local private schools throughout the Cowichan Valley District. In 1976 the family moved to Nanaimo. Jacquie taught at Malaspina College (VIU) in the Music Department for 20 years.
Jacquie toured BC, Washington and Oregon with the Malaspina Trio and performed concertos with the Mid Island Orchestra, the Nanaimo Symphony and Mount Benson Philharmonia. She loved playing and performing and taught her students passionately, caring for each. Her colleagues were her friends and she loved her home away from home at the College, and with her music communities: Bard to Broadway and the Upper Island Music Festival.
After retiring from the College in 1996, Jacquie taught privately, gave master classes, accompanied soloists, played the organ and conducted the choir at St. Peter's Catholic Church. She modelled resilience and perseverance, expecting excellence in herself and those around her. Our mother was perhaps the most complex, provocative woman her family has known. Her grandson Caleb says, "I am proud that she lives on in each of us."
The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Wexford Creek Care Facility for their thoughtful care of Jacquie during her plight with cardio vascular dementia, and compassion for the family during her palliative care.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the MS and the Alzheimer Societies.
A mass will be held for Jacquie at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 301 Machleary Street, Nanaimo, Saturday, January 20th at 11:00 am. A light lunch will be served afterwards.
Please join us in celebrating her life.
Condolences may be offered at www.telfordsnanaimo.com
Telford's Burial & Cremation Centre