Jean McKenzie was born proudly Scottish. Her father was a gamekeeper from a Highlands estate and her mother a Meineke of German decent from the Fort Mistake area. Her parents were poor mining folk who worked and lived in Durnacol. Jean had an older sister, Cathy, and a younger brother, Kenneth.
Jean was very bright at school – she even skipped a year of schooling – and somehow her parents made it possible for her to attend Girls’ High School in Pietermaritzburg. Jean was very sporty and excelled in tennis and hockey. She studied and became a teacher, teaching in Dannhauser, Elandslaagte, Paulpietersburg, down the South Coast and eventually returning to Northern Natal. She married Cecil Marshall.
Jean was very involved in the Woman’s Institute and the Dundee Golf Club – she loved a game of golf!
She pursued other interests such as painting and some of her art adorns the walls of family and friends. Jean was a committed Christian and was a staunch and devout member of the Trinity Presbyterian Church.
Jean was known for setting high standards and being a firm disciplinarian. She was highly respected and was eventually appointed as the headmistress of the Northern Natal Remedial School in Glencoe and it was there that she fulfilled her life’s passion: assisting and guiding under-achieving children.
She married Bill Bailie and retired to Plettenberg Bay. It was there, soon after being widowed, that she lost her house and all her possessions except for her car, a dog, a cat and her diary in a devastating fire. While walking among the burnt ruins of her house, Jean said to her only beloved son, Ian, “None of this matters, these were all just earthly possessions.”

Jean’s desire and request to be taken to church never faded and the times that Jill Schär would push her in the wheelchair to church were deeply meaningful to her. How she loved and appreciated the monthly Holy Communion Services at Eventide.

Her thoughts and prayers were with the family of the young man who lost his life in trying to fight the fire and for the other man fighting for his life in a local hospital. This made a deep impression on Ian’s life.
Jean had a sharp mind, and even when advanced in age and with failing health, her ability to remember people’s names astounded everyone, and she continued to take a genuine interest in the well-being of others.
Jean dearly loved music and I will never forget how she would tap her foot to the beat of the golden oldie songs that we played when we entertained the old folk.
Jean’s desire and request to be taken to church never faded and the times that Jill Schär would push her in the wheelchair to church were deeply meaningful to her. How she loved and appreciated the monthly Holy Communion Services at Eventide.
It would be amiss not to mention the many friends who prayed for, and visited, Jean over the past number of years but in particular, the ever-faithful and devoted Paula Kelbrick and Jill Schär who regularly visited and treated Jean with chocolate, which was something she loved. Just hours before Jean peacefully departed this life to be present with the Lord, Angela Millar and I were with her and, with permission from the nursing staff, Angela again delighted her with a little chocolate.
Enjoy the music and prayers of eternity, dear Jean. (Brother Daniel).