Jackie Juriansz, Choir Director

It was 1972, I was in grade 9 when Mrs. Juriansz arrived at Toronto Junior Academy to be the new choir director. The problem was, she was replacing the old choir director whom I’d loved since grade four. I entered the first choir rehearsal with a disposition to not like the new teacher. However, while Mrs. Juriansz was conducting, she smiled at me and winked. That wink was the beginning an important friendship.

JJ, as some of us called her, taught me so many things just by having a presence in my life. On a choir trip she and her husband Garth (my band teacher), inspired my love for classical music during a time when it was easy for a young person to gravitate to what was not best about the music of the 70’s. JJ took to me my first Baskin and Robbins and introduced me to Rocky Road ice cream while she introduced me to life and prepared me for the rocky road that we each would experience in our own time. We often went shopping, not to buy anything, but just to hang around together..

JJ’s creativity, laughter, and zest for life, still echo on my journey. When I infrequently go to Baskin and Robbins, I order Rocky Road in her honor. I also know that investing in the lives of those younger than us can bring its own reward.

Jackie died on November 3, 2015. Age 64.