Jill Elaine Daigle

Jill Elaine Daigle passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 5th in Ottawa after living with cancer for the past three years.

Jill was born October 3, 1968, at the Saint John General Hospital to Pamela (Cromwell) and Yves Daigle. She grew up in beautiful Grand Bay, and graduated from St. Vincent’s High School in 1986 and from St. Thomas University with a bachelor’s degree in social work in 1990.

A compassionate and caring person, it’s no surprise that Jill worked for years as a home help and personal aide worker for elderly patients. Before her cancer diagnosis, she spent 17 years at Meals on Wheels in Ottawa, ending her time there as the volunteer coordinator. She loved that job and relished being able to help others. But the challenging, at times stressful, and ultimately rewarding, work that Jill took on wasn’t enough for her creative soul, and so she turned to the world of competitive candlepin bowling.

Wait, no. Make that creating art.

Truthfully, in her late thirties and looking for a middle-aged thrill, Jill decided to try knitting– mostly because there were so many beautiful yarns she wanted to play with. All that “knit-purl, knit-purl” stuff was too restrictive and didn't satisfy her inclination to go off script, so she focused on working with the material in a way that felt freer and more exploratory. She took her yarns and wool roving and created felt "paintings” through needle and wet felting techniques. She then branched out to other mediums and techniques, which ultimately led her to her one true love, vampire slaying.

Correction: mixed-media painting. Mostly portraits, landscapes and birds.

What started as a hobby graduated to more of a side hustle, and she always felt lucky to be able to pursue her own, unique style of art and creative expression without the worry of being commercially viable. Let’s be real: some of those bird paintings were titled “Peeper Decided he was Doing too Much Upper Body Work at the Gym,” and “You, Sir, Will be Hearing from My Lawyer.” And at no time did she ever turn her sharp wit and love of art into planning and carrying out high-stakes, international art heists.

She was nowhere near Boston in March of 1990, so stop asking.

She delighted in supporting fellow artists in Ottawa and across Canada, going to exhibits and buying art and crafts in farmer’s markets and shops wherever she went. She particularly adored going to New York and exploring museums, galleries and neighborhoods like Brooklyn and Queens. And not only did she definitely never, not ever, steal any art, she gave hers away, setting up a tiny Free Library in front of her house with miniature replicas of her works that anyone could take, provided they left behind the metal cart it was stored on.

But, gentle reader, our Jilly Bean was not all empathy and good works and creative self-expression. She was sometimes impatient, occasionally a negative Nelly, and plagued with a relentless pedantry that caused her to double-check trivia on her phone in real time while people were just trying to have a conversation. Just gabbing with pals. Just having a nice night in–not looking for an in-depth explanation for the origins of the phrase “once in a blue moon.”

But our girl also loved Joni Mitchell and Louise Bourgeois and making jewelry out of smashed china and The Big Lebowski, and a street artist named Swoon and tote bags with little mushrooms on them and The Smiths and fresh figs and Poetry Unbound and campfire singalongs. And, and, and… so much more. 

She delighted in all those things, along with the incredible friends she cherished, across the country and around the world as she wandered and settled, settled and wandered… in Vancouver, Saint John, Ottawa. So many friendships that she tended and cared for and maintained. Too many people to name, but whom she described, collectively, as the “great loves” of her life.

We didn’t even have time to get to Jill’s incredible writing, which was lately a focus when she couldn’t wield her art supplies anymore. She opened up in short poems and essays which displayed her raw vulnerability and rich imagination. 

She was trying to leave this world more beautiful than she found it, right up until the end.

And she did. That, she did.

In addition to her wonderful parents Pamela and Yves, Jill leaves behind her amazing daughters, Madeleine Dodd (and her partner, Nick) and Georgia Dodd. 

Her older sister Jennifer LeBlanc and baby sister Monique Daigle remember Jill with love every single day in their homes filled with her art. 

Jill leaves behind a squad of nieces and a nephew: Sarah LeBlanc, Jessica (and Nick) Evans, James LeBlanc (and Brianna), Rachel (and Zack) Blanchard and Grace LeBlanc (and Owen).

She was deeply loved by her brother-in-law, Raymond LeBlanc, and her sister-in-law, Maureen Noel, who both feel the loss of Jill profoundly.

Jill had an exceptional relationship with her aunt, Marsha Cromwell-Brooks, who, along with her partner Oswald, are devastated to lose her.

Her extended family and friends–and those who were a bit of both, like Erika Doherty Levesque (and her partner, Jean Marc)–remember her with warmth and affection.

She is also survived by her fluffy, regal and crabby cat Bongo (aka Mr Baby) and was predeceased by two good boys: doggos Silas and Quincy.

Jill's love for Maddie and Georgia knew no bounds. She loved them so fiercely that she marveled that she could even love that much, and that her heart could hold so much joy and pride. But she could, and it did.

In honor of Jill, go make some art. Paint, draw, sing, write–heck, knit if you can. Just no heists.

And if you’ve got some cash, consider donating to your local Meals on Wheels or the Ottawa Community Cancer Hub, which was a great source of comfort and support to Jill over the past three years

See Jill speak about her incredible experience there below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlKLocRaUAw