Tribute

April 27, 1934 – November 14, 2024

Jill Bensley Sydneysmith (nee More) lived in Canada for 66 years but never lost her cherished English accent. To her children and grandchildren and their many friends that knew her, she was the Queen. She was regal in many ways but her life on Salt Spring Island gave her a rural charm.

And charming she was. Jill had an extraordinary ability to connect with people, young or old, local or from away, there was nothing she enjoyed more than to have a wee chat, tell you a story or two about her life, and ask you a question or two about your own.

From the countless relatives she left back in England to the friends made in Vancouver, North Carolina, Kota Kinabalu, Dhaka, and Lilongwe, to those met during two years cruising the east coast, the Caribbean, Central America, and Hawaii, if you made friends with Jill, you had a friend for life.

Only five years old when war broke out in 1939, Jill and her younger sister were evacuated to Harlech, Wales where the Mores had strong family ties. Her parents’ commitment to the war effort took them apart from each other and from their children. But time spent in Harlech with her beloved Bantock cousins became a defining chapter of Jill’s early life and Harlech, one of her favorite places on earth.

Jill’s inner beauty was without question, stunningly complemented by an outward beauty that was remarkable at 90 and would have taken your breath away at 20. After leaving school it was her dream to become a fashion model. Her father insisted first she gain a career skill to fall back on. At 18 she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service, aka the “WRENS”. In the Navy Jill trained as a dental hygienist, was exceptionally popular with the sailors, and came away with a lifelong distaste for Brandy.

After “demobbing” from the navy she was “discovered” by an up-and-coming fashion photographer, Tony Armstrong Jones (latterly the 1st Earl of Snowdon and brother-in-law to QEII) fulfilling her fashion model dream.

Twenty-four and hungry to see other parts of the world, Jill hopped a ship bound for Canada and eventually made her way out to Vancouver. From that point forward Jill was a west coast girl. She dated. One guy got lucky enough to marry her. She raised three children. Had six grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and three step-great grandchildren.

As children became adults and pursued their own paths Jill immersed herself in other pursuits. She re-entered the workforce, embraced new opportunities to live overseas, and expanded her web of relationships. Young at heart, she surrounded herself with younger friends, always embracing the people and experiences in whose company she found herself…no matter where that might be.

Jill was a serial volunteer. Never shy to put up her hand and fiercely committed to keeping the promises she made, delivering on commitments and making sure others did the same. From the Bluewater Cruising Association, she and Sam founded in the 70s, to the Salt Spring Island Sailing Club where she was the first female to be independently appointed a lifetime member; sailboats and the people and culture around them were a major focus and beneficiary of her volunteerism – as were several charities and, especially, community theatre. Local drama clubs and theatre troupes from Dhaka on the Ganges to Ganges on Salt Spring Island, benefited from her energy and vision for costumes and make-up and having a jolly good laugh all the while.

Jill loved people and people loved Jill. She was engaged and engaging to the very end. Born April 27, 1934, died November 14, 2024, she is and always be will in our hearts and on our minds.