JANICE ADELAIDE TAIT

Mother to Ruth, Alison (Jim) and Catherine (Roger); grandmother to Jesse, Sean (Brittany), Eric (Pam), Max, Nicola (Daniel) and Beatrice; great-grandmother to Ruby, Liam, Ayla, Nora, Archer and Oscar "Ozzy"; aunt to Leslie, Heather, Hilary and Sarah. Janice Tait was born in Brantford Ontario, grew up at 55 Dufferin with her dear sister, Carol; and parents, David and Connie Johnson. She attended University College at University of Toronto and there met her husband of 23 years, Richard Tait. The two embarked on the life of diplomats with their three daughters living in Greece, Switzerland, Vietnam and the UK. Together they explored the world, sailed many seas, skied many mountains and shared a love of discovery. Home in Ottawa, Janice was a determined public servant at the Department of Environment and Transport Canada and proudly advanced groundbreaking transportation policy for people living with disabilities. Always curious and relentlessly energetic, Janice pursued a career in teaching, earned a Masters of Education from OISE and ultimately became a psychotherapist. Her passions ranged from white-water canoeing to feminism to Buddhism to bridge. Her love of travel persisted right into her eighties, when Janice headed to India for six months to live and volunteer at a children's orphanage in Hyderabad. Never a settled spirit, she returned to Canada to write three books. Her voracious appetite for learning, for poetry, for reflective thinking and politics continued right up until her last days with many new friends at her senior's residence in Ottawa. Janice could be a demanding friend – always seeking deeper connection - and she was worth the work. Her whip-sharp tongue, her bright blue eyes and many ideas signaled an ever-engaged mind and heart.