Dawn Jamieson had a lifelong passion for learning and for giving back to her community.
The longtime resident of Armstrong died May 3 at age 78.
Originally from Ottawa, Jamieson met her future husband, Jack Jamieson, in Whitehorse when both were in the Yukon working.
“She was back from university for the summer, living with her parents and working for CN Telecommunications, and I was busy working for the Whitehorse Star (newspaper), CBC and Time Magazine,” said Jack, the former owner-operator of the Armstrong Advertiser newspaper. “We came to Armstrong in 1969.”
In Armstrong, Jamieson was a dedicated kindergarten teacher and lifelong learner who did whatever she could to support her students. Later in her career, Jamieson worked in the school district office as a school psychologist.
Outside the school’s and district’s hallowed halls, Jamieson was a board member of Armstrong Abbeyfield House, a Rotarian, a member of Probus, and a volunteer on various local committees, including the Armstrong Heritage Advisory Committee, which she joined in 1998 and was a member up to her death.
“We met once a week for breakfast and our heritage meeting; we always ate breakfast and frequently talked about heritage,” said Gail Salter who, along Jessie Ann Gamble and Jamieson, make up the advisory committee.
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“Dawn brought such a positive attitude to the committee; she firmly believed we could do whatever needed to be done. She also brought formidable writing skills and became the official scribe. She was loyal, fun, enthusiastic, straightforward and not afraid to express her opinion. She was also a great friend.”
With the advisory committee, Jamieson compiled an inventory of 80 older buildings in Armstrong and developed a community heritage register. She designed the heritage designation plaques affixed to the 11 designated heritage buildings in the city and developed a heritage colours brochure.
“She, Jessie Ann and I painted the brochures and Dawn said it was like teaching kindergarten again,” laughed Salter.
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Jamieson was also involved with the cemetery project, where the committee named the roads, put up road signs, erected a directory of the cemetery and developed an alphabetical listing of people buried in the cemetery and where their final resting places are.
She was also a volunteer with the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum and Arts Society (ASMAS) where she worked on computerizing old photographs.
Jamieson, along with Salter and Gamble, was a recipient of the city’s Recognition of Excellence Award. In 2006, she and Jack were named Armstrong’s Citizens of the Year.
A service of remembrance will be held Friday at 2 p.m. at St. James Anglican Church Hall in Armstrong.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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