Jeanne Moloney

With her family by her side, Marie Jeanne Marguerite Moloney (née Jolie), in her 92nd year, passed away on Friday September 29, 2023. Spouse: Peter Blaise Moloney (m. 1952 – 1977)

Jeanne was born in Sandwich (Windsor), Ontario on November 8, 1931, the second youngest of the seven children of John Jolie and Lena (Bondy) Jolie. She was predeceased by her siblings: Joseph, Ernie, George, Vince, Marie Anne, and Roger.

She is survived by her seven children: Michael (Brenda), Kathleen (Allan), Mary Anne (Wayne), Helen, Joseph (Marianne), Maureen (Kevin) and Barbara (Norm). In turn, they gave her 21 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren, all of whom provided her with great joy.

Always close with her sister and brothers, Jeanne often shared fond family memories of growing up in Windsor. Spending time with cousins and friends, and playing sports, gave her a fulfilling and happy childhood.

After marrying, Jeanne moved to Simcoe County and set about raising her raucous little tribe, a round-the-clock, every day of the year job. Her sacrifices meant that the happiness of her childhood was now experienced by her children. A standard answer when one of us contemplated something risky was the best sort of advice, “Don’t kill yourself.” We thrived.

Beyond her children Jeanne had three great passions in life: music, baseball, and travel.

Music was a constant background to life in our home. An extensive collection of vinyl albums later gave way to CDs, and eventually YouTube. Selections were eclectic, from gold standards of the 1950s through classical scores and movie soundtracks and on to a closet favourite, Meat Loaf’s old Bat out of Hell.

An avid baseball fan, in earlier years she was a devoted Detroit Tigers fan. Following league expansion, she switched her allegiance to become a die-hard Toronto Blue Jays supporter. It gave her great satisfaction to see the Jays beat the Yankees in the last game she was able to watch.

During our formative years we had little inkling of the world traveler she yearned to be. As soon as her obligations to us were complete she hit the road running. An extensive fridge magnet collection is evidence of the many places she visited overseas. In later years, when it became too difficult for her to travel physically, she did so vicariously via our adventures.

In her final year, Jeanne continued to live independently in her own apartment and remained as active as possible. This included a weekly trip to a large supermarket, where she would make a point of walking down every aisle. She enjoyed daily rapport and card-playing with her friends, and almost-daily visits from kids and grandkids.

A memorial Mass for Jeanne will be held 10:00 am Wednesday, 11 October at St. Mary's Church, Amelia St., Barrie, ON.