When Jean Barker was born, she arrived home from the hospital in Scott in a dust storm. She was the youngest child of Bob and Zena Martin, homesteading pioneers of the Phippen district. She went to school in Phippen where her older brother John was her teacher from grades 1-4. In 1948 she went to Normal School in Saskatoon to become a teacher herself.  She got her first job at Fairyland School and lived in the teacherage along with her mother, for 3 years. She met someone special during that time, and in 1952 she and Wilson Barker were married. Being a farmer, they got married after harvest on November 4. Jean and Wilson chose an adventure for their honeymoon. It was warmer in California than in Saskatchewan in November, so it seemed a great place to go. They drove all through California, saw the giant Redwood trees and continued all the way to Mexico. Little did they know that 30 years later they would have the opportunity to return to Mexico for holidays as it started to blossom into a tourist destination.

The Barker family farm, in the Narrow Lake district, was a mixed cattle and grain farm. After their marriage Mum taught a year at the Narrow Lake School just down the road from the farm. That year there were 9 students ranging from grades 1 – 9. The arrival of Doug, Shirley, Bruce and Scott as well as farm life kept Mum very busy over the years. We remember Mum as always being in the kitchen ironing, cooking, canning and baking. Angel food cakes and Sponge cakes with coins hidden inside were family favourites for birthdays. Sometimes she took our meals to the field in harvest time. It was a special treat for Dad and us kids loved it too. I have two of her old cookbooks which were very well used. The Fairyland Community Club Cookbook - 1931, and the Sunbeam Mixmaster Cookbook. Mum did get a few nights off from cooking. In the 1960’s we tried out the new TV dinners occasionally and ate them sitting at TV tables so we could watch Walt Disney and Bonanza.

She had a large vegetable garden and flower garden throughout her years on the farm. We remember shelling peas for Mum in the summer and digging potatoes in the fall. Her love of flowers and ornamental trees transformed a barren farmyard into one they enjoyed very much. Both Dad and Mum loved the rural lifestyle.

Jean was a member of the Fairyland Community Club, the Wilkie Kinettes & K-ettes, and the Wilkie United Church. She also volunteered at Norman Carter School for a while.

For recreation she loved to spend time with her brother Jim and sister Lucy and all her nephews and nieces. They took turns hosting family dinners for Christmas and other special occasions. Mum & Dad had fun Square Dancing at various friends’ homes, and we spent many summer weekends camping at Jackfish Lake and fishing. Family camping holidays in the Rockies in the late 1960’s were also a favourite. When Scott was around 5 years old, Mum, Dad & Scott learned to cross country ski. Scott learned on little red wooden skis. My children, Eve and Ben, and Eve’s children, Wilson, Ivy & Cooper, all learned to cross country ski on Scott’s little red skis. Scott, Dad & Mum continued cross country skiing until Scott was a teenager and wanted more hills and more speed. The three of them then learned to downhill ski at Table Mountain and continued to ski at Table Mountain as well as in the Rocky Mountains. Thelma Martin was an avid skier, so she joined them on ski trips too.

Mum & Dad’s travel adventures started in 1977 to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. They went to Australia and New Zealand on a Western Producer Farm tour. They didn’t just visit farms and see lots of sheep though. We have a picture of them riding camels in the desert of the Australian outback! Further adventures took them to tropical islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which they loved. In 2001 they went to Europe on a bus tour of France, Switzerland and Germany, where they found Mum’s brother John’s grave from the 2nd World War in Hanover, Germany. Another year they went to Scotland and Ireland to see the land of their parents and grandparents. As they got older, they started spending time in Yuma, Arizona for a few months every winter in their motorhome.

Mum knew the benefits of walking and stayed active as she got older. She liked to walk the roads at the farm on summer evenings but eventually had to stop when the coyotes were howling and you couldn’t tell how close they were.

In 2012 Mum & Dad celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and moved from the farm to a cozy new condo in Wilkie, where they lived for 6 years. She enjoyed walking around town with friends in spring, summer and fall, and in winter she joined the Wilkie Walkers at the Rec Centre. Wilson passed away in 2014 and a few days later Tonya’s Grandpa passed away too. Even in her grief Mum was thinking of others as she sent a sympathy card to Tonya. Mum moved into Bethany assisted living in Wilkie in 2018. Her final home was in Poplar Courts from 2020 – 2025 where she was well taken care of.

Mum showed her love for us with kind words and encouragement. She kept us clean, fed & watered, educated and entertained with never a complaint. Hers was a life well lived. We were lucky to have such a wonderful Mother.