Wednesday, January 25, 2017
My deepest condolences to Bob, Julie, Jenni and their offspring on the death of their mother, Jean. Jean and Jon virtually adopted me when I migrated in 1973, with their home in Palm Beach a reflection of their warmth towards others. Mother called them my in loco parentis. Jean's loving warmth was carried on by her children, especially Jenni in my experience, making anyone of any age feel welcome.
To my detriment, I lost contact in the mid-1980s when Jenni was living in Cowra and her parents in Richmond/Kurrajong.
The only thing of value I was able to give Jean was an explanation of why her American cookbook recipes came out too runny (a US cup is 8 oz, not 10 oz or metric equiv of British/Australian measurements).
Seriously, I do not think my migration to Oz would have been half as successful as it was were it not for Jean and the rest of the family and friends. Her children's friends exhibited the same warmth towards and interest in me as Jean (and Jon) naturally exuded. (One of Bob's friends asked me about something I did having not seen me for a year. That was just one example of how Jean's warmth spread through all her contacts.)
