Christie (Gemmell), Janet Kay

It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Janet Kay Christie (Gemmell) in the early hours of September 14, 2022, in Nelson, BC, at the age of 73.

Janet was a proud mother, grandmother and great grandmother who cherished her family and her independence.

Janet was born July 5, 1949, in Olympia, Washington, and grew up in Pendleton, Oregon with parents, Raymond E. and LeDean M. (Garner) Gemmell and older brother William (Bill).

Janet spent her school years engaged in various extracurricular activities such as dance, baton, and band. As a high school student, she also did the bookkeeping for her father’s machine and welding shop. She graduated from Pendleton High School in 1967, afterwards attending the local Blue Mountain Community College taking liberal arts classes. She then attended Kinman Business University in Spokane, Washington where she challenged many of the accounting courses.

It was while attending Blue Mountain College that she met an adventurous Canadian, Herb Christie (ex). They fell in love and in the spring of 1970 eloped in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Herb brought her back to Canada where she experienced the rugged great outdoors as she joined her husband living high in the mountains at a fire lookout in the Slocan Valley. She had her first child, Raymond, that fall in Spokane, WA. They then moved to Slocan City, having her second child, Susan, in Nelson just before moving back to Hermiston, Oregon for ten years. During this time, Janet had her third child, Julie, in Umatilla, Oregon. These years she worked hard raising her children and managing a home on an acreage with several animals (dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, horses). Occasionally, throughout these years, she worked outside the home to support the family.

In 1983 it was decided to move the family back to Canada, eventually settling in the Slocan Valley.  In 1993 she separated from her husband and moved into Nelson with her youngest daughter, Julie. She attended Selkirk College taking the Office Administration program. She worked different jobs over the years for hotels, a custodial company and the School District eventually retiring in 2014.

Janet was an active member of the Nelson Covenant Church for many years and diligently sent out greeting cards to church members each month. She was an avid reader and a collector of meaningful scripture and quotes which she would hand write in notebooks. She enjoyed keeping up to date on current events, and especially loved keeping tabs on the happenings of  her grandchildren.

Just recently, Janet confirmed a long-held belief that she was adopted by applying to Ancestry.com. Through the help of newly acquainted niece, Sande Lien, she discovered the identity of her biological mother, Mable Jeannette Akie (deceased 2002) and her Finnish ancestry. She cherished a recent visit by Sande in which she learned more about her past.

Janet is predeceased by her parents and brother, and is survived by her children, Raymond Christie, Susan Christie (Rob Ostrikoff), and Julie McFarlane (David); her grandchildren, Alyssa Jackson (Jared), Ashley Floor (Lee), Jonah McFarlane (Hannah), Caleb McFarlane, Anna McFarlane, Aidan Ostrikoff, Silas McFarlane and Danika Pope; and great grandchildren, Micah, Koan, Freya and Ander Floor, and Zachary and Timothy McFarlane.

Janet’s family wishes to extend heartfelt appreciation to the dedicated and caring nurses at the Kootenay Lake Hospital that assisted us the last few days of her life, as well as many thanks to our extended family and friends for all the love and support during this difficult time.

A service will be held Saturday, September 24, at 11am at the Nelson Covenant Church, 702 Stanley Street, followed by visitation at Thompson Funeral Service, 613 Ward Street, between 1-3pm.