Jean Denby

Tuesday 25 August 2026, at age 84, Jean Denby died in Markham Stouffville Hospital after being in a coma for 5 days. It ended a year of off and on again hospital visits induced by amyloidosis.

With deep love and gratitude, we remember Gertrude Jean Denby (nee Warne), a kind, soft-spoken, and loving woman whose gentle strength shaped the lives of all who knew her. She was devoted to her family, her community, and the quiet acts of care that made a house feel like home and made everyone around her feel welcomed, and valued.

Jean was born in Font Hill, Ontario to Frank Eugene Warne and Christina Margaret (nee Murphy) Warne as their second child and only daughter on Tuesday, June 23 in 1942. She grew up in Unionville, where the family moved after her grandfather, George Clark Murphy died in October of the same year. She was named Gertrude after her grandmother Murphy but preferred her middle name, Jean.

Her elder brother, William George Clark Warne, by eight years, predeceased her this year. Her eldest son, Karl Arthur Frank Denby predeceased her the previous year, at age 60. 

In 1964 she graduated nursing school at Toronto East General Hospital and immediately married Douglas Leigh Denby. Together, they built a family and a legacy rooted in genuine appreciation for life, knowledge and the importance of caring and kindness to self and others. She was the cherished matriarch of her family and delighted in hosting gatherings and holiday events.

Doug and Jean moved to Orangeville, Ontario where she worked in the hospital, and also birthed their first son, named above. In 1966 the little family moved to a minuscule new village in the Canadian Arctic. A couple of years later, the family moved to Waterloo, Ontario where she gave birth to her second son, Douglas Sean Denby of Dieppe, New Brunswick. A year later the growing family moved to Pickering Ontario where she continued her nursing career until birthing her daughter Tanja Jean Hunter in 1972.

After her mother died later that same year, the family moved to the home where she grew up, on Main Street Unionville and that was the end of her moving about. There she became a full time home maker, volunteering in many community activities  for the next half century plus including skating, swimming, school talks about the Arctic, Girl Guides, Central United Church Women, Unionville Historical Society, Markham Historical Society and supporting the Markham Museum, where for a few years she was on staff.

Jean and Doug continued to travel in Europe, Australia, and across Canada and the United States many times, often in their Vixen RV, collecting stories and memories along the way and connecting with friends.

A full life she had, adoring her 7 grandchildren James, Jordan, Ky, Cassidy, Case, Malcolm and Shona, all of whom are adults now. She is grieved by her remaining family and friends.

Her memory, spirit and and lessons quietly taught, live on within those who were closest to her. We are thankful and honoured for all she shared with us. She was the best of us and will be missed more than words can express.