Jane ATKEY

MARCH 20, 1938 - JUNE 23, 2009 JANE ATKEY B.A., M.A. After a lifelong career spent battling major disease and disabilities on behalf of others, Jane succumbed to pancreatic cancer at Sunnybrook Hospital, Toronto on June 23, 2009. She was in the company of her devoted partner Jane Staub, her loving brother Ron Atkey and nephew Matthew Atkey. Jane was born in St. Thomas, Ontario, the first and only daughter of Osborne Lorne George Atkey Q.C. (deceased 1957) and Mary Agnes Hills (deceased 1978), and after the Second World War grew up in Petrolia, Ontario where she attended elementary and high school. In the summer of 1949, events occurred that were to affect the rest of he life. A polio epidemic swept though communities in southwestern Ontario and Jane at age 11 suffered serious paralysis of her lower limbs from which she would never fully recover. Lengthy periods of isolation in London, Ontario hospitals followed along with years of aggressive rehabilitation. But her experience with polio only strengthened her resolve to make a difference and fuelled her desire to assist others with disabilities as an inspirational role model. At age 18 following high school she enrolled in the program for Physical and Occupational Therapy at University of Toronto, and then practiced as a physiotherapist in private sector positions (Dr. Paul McGoey) for 10 years while completing her Bachelor of Arts degree at U. of T. From there she joined the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services in 1968 and took on responsibility for various programs in the Rehabilitation Branch involving persons with disabilities. She rose through the Ministry based on her expertise in rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, attending international conferences in Geneva and Poland, but at the same time completed her Master's in Social Work at the University of Michigan in 1972. Her last operational position with the Ministry before she retired in 1994 was as coordinator of federal/provincial activities related to the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Person Agreement. Since retirement, she has acted as administrative technical assistant to Jane Staub & Associates. Jane was equally aggressive in her volunteer activities. From the Mayor's Task Force on the Disabled and the Elderly (a co-founding member in 1972 with Mayor David Crombie, Alderman Anne Johnston, Pamela Cluff, Margaret McLeod and Jane Staub), the Clarendon Foundation (Cheshire Homes) in 1972-73, CUSO for the disabled in Jamaica in 1984, the Toronto Peel Post Polio Support Group (as chair and newsletter editor), and ARCH, a legal aid and resource centre in Toronto, she was relentless in pursuit of justice and accessibility for people with disabilities. She always spoke with the conviction of personal experience. Beyond her active career, Jane led a fulfilling personal life, staying mobile with her scooter, wheelchair, customized motor vehicle, travel for fifteen years each winter to her beloved Sanibel, Florida, and summers swimming and doing aqua fit in the pool at her bungalow in North York. Friends looked up to her as a guru on disability matters. She and Jane Staub were always gracious hostesses, providing a warm and welcoming home for gatherings of friends or family, or temporary shelter for family members in need. Her mind was sharp almost to the end and she was addicted equally to her computer, blackberry, flat screen TV, Sudoku, cryptic crosswords, and fine company. Jane is survived by her partner Jane Staub, her brother Ron Atkey, her nephew Matthew Atkey in Toronto, and her nieces Erin Tait (Bruce Tait and grandnephews Phineas and Wyatt) in Minneapolis and Jennifer Atkey in Vancouver. Her nephew Jonathan Atkey predeceased her in 1996. She will also be missed by her extended family of Aunt Rhetta Atkey and cousins and step-siblings which has grown larger over the years - to Ottawa, Toronto, Goderich, Winnipeg, Victoria and places beyond. Special thanks to those health-care givers in the Critical Care Unit and Sections B-4 and C-3 at Sunnybrook who understood Jane's wishes as to the type of personal care she would like in her closing days. Your respect for these wishes is truly appreciated. Funeral arrangements are with R.S. Kane Funeral Home at 6150 Yonge Street, North York, ON (between Finch and Steeles), telephone 416-221-1159. Family visitation will be on Monday, June 29th, 2009 between 2 - 4 and 7 - 9 p.m., and the funeral will be held in the chapel at R.S.Kane at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009. Private family interment will follow at a later date in the Atkey family plot at Bayview Cemetery in Wiarton, Ontario. In lieu of flowers, the family would ask you to send donations in the memory of Jane Atkey to: Centre for Independent Living in Toronto (CILT), Inc. 365 Bloor Street East, Suite 902 Toronto ON M4W 3L4 Charitable Registration Number 106897861RR0001