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Jane HOWELL Obituary

JANE HOWELL It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Jane Howell on February 11, 2021. Jane leaves behind her husband Cam Spooner, her two daughters, Brianna Howell-Spooner (married to Kyle Seifert) and Kailey Howell-Spooner (engaged to Jessie Bourgeault-Trickey), her brother David Howell (married to Kagari Ando) and sister Megan Baker (married to Gordon Baker). Jane was an emeritus Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the Ivey Business School. Jane earned her Ph.D. in Business Administration and B.A. in Psychology from The University of British Columbia, and her M.A. in Counseling Psychology from Western University. Prior to attaining her Ph.D. Jane worked with the B.C. Justice Institute and the Toronto Dominion Bank in Human Resources. Jane won many awards during her career. She was honoured with holding the J Allyn Taylor & Arthur Mingay Chair in Leadership. In 1998 she was given the University's Edward G. Pleva Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation, and in 2007 was the recipient of the Dean Carol Stephenson Excellence in Executive MBA Teaching Award. Further, Jane was awarded many scholastic scholarships whilst attending university, received over a dozen national research grants and published innumerable papers in renowned international journals as well as co-authoring several books pertaining to her field. She also had many firsts during her career including being the first female full professor at Ivey, first female Associate Dean and first faculty member to receive straight 'sevens' on teaching evaluations. She taught leadership and change in Ivey's Executive Hong Kong and Toronto MBA programs, Ph.D. programs, as well as custom executive development programs delivered to the EMBA program. She was the President of her own consulting company Dr Jane M Howell and Associates Ltd, which developed and taught executive programs to many large national and international corporations. On a more personal note, Jane was one of the most engaging people. She lit up the room with her smile that everyone first notices about her. Jane's life was filled with laughter, many good friends, a gracious hostess of many an evening at home and at the cottage on Bruce Beach. Together with Cam, she travelled to and extensively explored over 60 countries in the world across five continents. But through all of this she was still just Jane - kind, generous of her time, a loving parent and a beautiful well-loved wife. She lived life to the fullest and has left the world a better place for her having been in it. She will be sorely missed. In recognition of Jane's commitment to the development of future leaders and business executives as a Professor at the Ivey Business School, we have created a scholarship in her name 'Professor Jane Howell Memorial Scholarship'. Tax deductible donations may be made at the Ivey Business School by following this link below. The recipients will come from the MBA and PhD programs and will be awarded the scholarship based on those who demonstrate leadership with consideration given to financial need. Given COVID, we hope to have a memorial service at the cottage this summer. In the meantime, we will be creating a celebration of Jane's life video to be sent later. The family thanks you for your kindness through this difficult moment in our lives. www.westernconnect.ca/JaneHowellMemorial (use control and left mouse click to access).

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Published by The Globe and Mail from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24, 2021.

Memories and Condolences
for Jane HOWELL

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26 Entries

Cluster of 50 Memorial Trees

HK EMBA Class of 2016

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Robert Bassan

April 13, 2021

My deepest condolences, Jane was a professor of mine, she was always a whirlwind, an explosion of energy. She touched many lives.

Susan Brooke

April 13, 2021

I am deeply saddened to read this news. Jane was an inspiration to me when I did my MBA in 1994-96. She brought tremendous insight and credibility to the study of organization behaviour that informed and inspired my career. My deepest sympathies to her family. She was such a bright light and kind, generous person.

Nicholas

April 13, 2021

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Jane Howell. She was my professor for two courses during my MBA, courses which I enjoyed very much. She was a lively, engaging professor and an exceptionally pleasant person.

Anne Kelsey Chin

April 7, 2021

Dear Cam, Brianna, Kailey, David and Megan: I send my love and sincere sympathy. Though our paths have not crossed in the fullness of these adult years, Jane was my dearest and best friend starting from the day she arrived in West Vancouver from Halifax in Grade 2! We had wonderful times together on Rabbit Lane with her special family, including Prince, her huge friendly dog! Mr. Howell teased us about getting our PhD’s when we were just in Grade 5 and we worked together on projects even then! Jane was a kind and special friend who was full of life and love in those early years too! Many of us from those early years mourn her loss and send love and deep sympathy to all her family. Rest In Peace dear Jane.

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HK EMBA Class of 2015

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Jeff Fairbairn

March 5, 2021

Dr. Howell was one of the most memorable professors that I had at Ivey. She lit up the classroom with her energy, from the moment she entered through to when the class finished 75 minutes later. I am so sorry that Ivey and the wider community has lost such a great talent. My sincerest condolences to her family.

Jeff Fairbairn
MBA, Class of 2004

Julie Hause

March 3, 2021

I am deeply saddened to hear of Jane's passing. The world has lost a bright light. I worked for Jane during her tenure as Associate Dean, and it was an experience I will never forget. Jane helped shape my career. She was a positive force in my life. To her family, I send my sincerest condolences.

Ryan Rodrigues (IVEY EMBA 2007)

March 3, 2021

I had the pleasure of working with Jane during my Executive MBA at Ivey 2006 - 2007. She was a wonderful professor. She had very high standards and kept us on our toes. She will be missed by the entire Ivey / Western community.

Fraser Hore

March 3, 2021

Jane was a brilliant, kind and inspiring teacher. She had a tremendous positive impact on my career and life, and I'm grateful for that gift. I'm sure that I'm joined by many others who share that gratitude. Thank you Jane.

Ellie Ballentine

March 3, 2021

Jane was absolutely my favourite teacher! I remember within the first 5 weeks of the program, we had all done Myer's Briggs profiles and a chart was put up on different profiles' likelihood of succeeding in the program. Mine was least likely! Jane came over to me and handed me a list of highly successful people with my profile. She knew the inner game and outer game of success...and full living. Thank you Jane, for your encouragement to stay my course and play full out. You are deeply cherished.

May this story shine light and comfort on your loss.

Carmen Lam

March 2, 2021

Jane was an inspiration. She did not teach - she guided, shaped and helped us all to become better and more mature leadership versions of ourselves, each and every time she touched us.

Janet Griffin

March 1, 2021

I remember Jane with great fondness. She taught my MBA class ('88) Organizational Behaviour. She had a way of making everyone feel heard when responding to their points. Her catch phrase "OK" in response to the student's comments was a trademark. She was a wonderful and warm person with a great sense of humour and incredible tolerance for the energy (& sometimes arrogance) of a bunch of MBA students. Her passing is a tremendous loss. I hope that knowing how many lives Jane touched positively is a comfort to the family and friends closest to her.

Lawrence Law

March 1, 2021

Please accept my deepest condolences for your family's loss.

I was blessed to be professor’s student in HK EMBA class of 2013. Dr. Howell possessed her unique charisma to demand every attention in her teaching. She always tirelessly brought her energy to liven up the boring subject. She was smart and brilliant to lead business case discussion ending with the inspiring notes. Till now, I still remember her smiles and encouraging words to me.

Professor Jane Howell, you will be dearly missed!

John W. Mercer, London, UK, MBA 1986

March 1, 2021

I am a member of the MBA Class of 1986, Jane's first OB Class in our entry year of 1984. I went to Ivey straight from my service in the Canadian Army and had very definite ideas on Leadership and Organizational Behaviour that conflicted significantly from Jane's views. We clashed frequently on issues such as the validity of Matrix Organizations. Our clashes became a source of entertainment for my classmates. Jane often dreaded having to call on me, but always eventually gave me the opportunity to express my views and was always professional in our discourse.

In the first term, my class gave Jane a rough time. I suspect it was because she was new, we knew it, and it was a way of venting our frustrations with the rigours of the program.

Two things happened. The first was that she realized she wasn't connecting with us in the way she wanted to, so she asked Kathy Slaughter, our Communications Prof, to sit in on her classes and provide feedback on how she could improve. The second was that, for our four-hour Saturday morning exam, Jane put a huge box of homemade chocolate chip cookies for us to munch on while we wrote her exam. It wasn't a bribe, it was just damned thoughtful of her.

By the end of the year, my class "adopted" Jane and woe betide anyone who dared say a negative thing about her in any of our presence. While she and I probably continued to disagree on certain OB issues, Jane taught me about resilience and tenacity in the post Army world. The teaching awards she has received do not surprise me in the least.

Since hearing of her death I have been on every form of social media I can to connect with my classmates around the world to let them know. The reactions have been unanimous, profound sadness and deep admiration for the 56th member of Section Four, Class of 1986.

Kola Deru

March 1, 2021

Farewell to Prof. Jane Howell, EMBA Leadership class 2011. A very passionate professor and leadership coach.
May God grant Jane sweet repose.
Deepest sympathy to Jane's family and live she touched.

Sean Rogers

March 1, 2021

Please accept my sincerest condolences. Jane taught me in Hong Kong for my EMBA program. She had such and energy and joy when teaching, it was an absolute pleasure to be in her class. I still keep many of the lessons she taught close to my heart as I continue my professional career. Her legacy lives on in her family and her students.

Madhavi Chandrasekaran

March 1, 2021

Dr. Jane Howell's real life lessons in Leadership are abiding and timeless.
I will forever be grateful for them and to Jane.
Deepest condolences to her family and the Ivey community who mourn her.

Ian He

March 1, 2021

I have lost a great teacher, but a noble soul has been added to heaven.
I will be always here to listen to you whenever you are ready.

Trevor Hunter

March 1, 2021

My sympathies to Jane's family. My name is Trevor Hunter and I am one of Jane's many grateful former MBA students. I also had the pleasure of working for Jane as an "actor" in her Managing People final project and I am proud to say that I was one of the student nominators for her Pleva award.

I cannot express to you how fantastic Jane was in the classroom. She was a maestro if ever there was one. Her humour and good nature encouraged discourse and learning about a subject that was often downplayed in quantitative heavy Ivey, but was arguably the most important of all. She inspired me in many ways and as a professor now, I try to "be like Jane" in my caring about my students. I can't live up to her example (no one could) but although I had not seen her in years, she remains one of the standards to which I try to meet. On behalf of the many people she inspired, thank you for sharing Jane with us. May she rest in peace.

Linda LaBelle

February 26, 2021

Cam, Brianna & Kailey, We are thinking about Jane and all of you. Jane's smile, laugh and loving personality will be missed. You have our deepest sympathy. The Huff Family

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Love and Hugs, The Huff Family

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Judy Brown and family at #73

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Suzy and Drew Brown

February 21, 2021

Cam,
Drew and I were so sorry to hear of your loss. Bruce Beach will miss Jane’s big smile and conversation when seeing her out on walks! What an accomplished and inspiring woman she was. Take care,
Suzy and Drew Brown
Cottage #73

Tim Godfrey

February 20, 2021

Barb and I are very sorry to hear about Jane. We loved her infectious enthusiasm, particularly on those occasions when the Class of 1979 would gather at the house for brunch after our five year reunions. Then we would fire up the piano and sing and have a great time all together. We would look forward to attending a celebration of her life whenever we are all allowed to get together.

Chris Schroeder

February 20, 2021

Dear Cam,
We are so very sorry that Jane has passed away. It was a real pleasure to be your neighbours for the four years we lived in London from 1987 to 1991. We admired Jane so much for her professional accomplishments. And we loved her engaging personality. As you said, she lit up the room with her smile. She was very kind to us both and to our son Ben. We send our deepest condolences to you and your daughters for your loss.

Chris and Dave Schroeder

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