Reflecting back on Mum’s life, I wondered how I should try and squeeze her life into a few paragraphs. Chronologically?  By achievement?  Neither seemed right. Her life was – she was - so many things.  So I’ve just written about Mum the way the ideas flowed.  About the type of person I knew her to be.  
 
Jenny led an interesting, rich life, taking twists and turns that no one could have predicted.  This is just a glimpse of the rather incredible woman Jenny was.  You will all have known your own Jenny and we invite you to share your thoughts, memories and photos on this page.  
 
Until the summer of 2020, Jenny was fit and active – a young 70 something with a social life that put most people 40 years her junior to shame.  She enjoyed the good things in life – good dark chocolate, music, a drink or two (or three), and time with her friends. More important to Jenny than anything was her independence; something she held onto fiercely until the end.    
 
Jenny was brave (and quite stubborn) and rather enjoyed raising a few eyebrows from time to time by doing the thing that people told her she couldn’t do.  Even in the last few weeks battling her illnesses, Jenny would take delight in suddenly performing tasks that others had agreed she could no longer do, and usually when someone was there to witness the miracle and prove everyone wrong.  Her bravery is what I will remember the most and it shone from her bright blue eyes even the day before she died.  
 
Jenny was a computer programmer in the 70s – one of not very many women working in the field in those days.  She had a number of jobs in other male dominated industries too, including a role with Scottish and Newcastle where she was tasked with auditing seasoned pub landlords and S&N hotels. A decade later, she was the quintessential 80s working Mum complete with shoulder pads and a questionable perm.
Jenny travelled extensively in her 20s, throughout her life and again after she retired.  She trekked through the Himalayas, travelled through Asia and Europe and embarked on solo trips through South America, New Zealand and Australia in her 60s. She often stayed with local communities (who sometimes didn’t speak any English), immersing herself in local culture and making many friends along the way. 
Through the course of her life Jenny moved from rural West Sussex where she grew up, onto Bangor University in Wales, then from London to Edinburgh, then back to London again before settling on the Isle of Jura to be near her Grandchildren, who she adored (and spoiled, as was her right). 
She went on diving and sailing trips with Keith before she had a baby on her hip and regularly went on long boat trips, despite getting terribly seasick. 
 
Jenny was naturally generous and would happily give up her time to help others.  In her retirement when she moved to Jura she really enjoyed her volunteer work, especially reading with the children at the primary school every week.  This was the thing she missed the most when Covid hit.  
 
She often sought out roles where she advocated for those who couldn’t speak for themselves.  Through her extensive trade union work, volunteering and even the occasional street protest, Jenny was passionate about human rights, respect and equality across all aspects of life and never shied away from speaking up.  
She was an active participant in politics and made it her business to research and question everything she could in the various manifestos, policies and white papers.  Even when she became ill, she kept herself up to date with unfolding political activities and she would have been so proud that her final trip out of the house was to cast her vote one last time in the village hall.  
 
Jenny was fiercely intelligent and loved learning.  Jenny learnt French and Latin at school and started learning Gaelic at the ICCI when she moved to Jura, which she enjoyed immensely, perhaps as much for the social element as the academic.  
As well as getting her degree in Philosophy at Bangor in her 20s, she became a qualified hypnotherapist in her 40s and continued to train in her various professions throughout her life.  Jenny was an avid reader; a joy she loved to share with her Grandchildren, through local book clubs, her volunteering at the school and the Islay Book Festival. 
She played the piano and loved classical music – something she inherited from her Father and passed on to her daughter. Her obsession with Sudoku and crosswords was strong, and if you put a magazine or paper down for a second she would have them all filled in.  
 
Jenny was funny, patient, happy, stubborn, ambitious, curious, contrary, brave, didn’t sweat the small stuff, and really enjoyed a good G&T.  
 
She wasn’t a very good driver or cook, but somehow managed to bounce around the many lanes of the M25 and the single-track roads of Argyll without causing much damage and never gave anyone food poisoning.  We’re still not sure how.