ST-GERMAIN-LOW, Eugénie “Jean”

Eugénie (Jean or Genie) St-Germain-Low passed away at the age of 97 at the Manoir Beaconsfield on July 5, 2024. Loving wife of the late Colin Low, she leaves behind her beloved sons Ben, Stephen (Shaune), and Alexander (Kate) as well as her grandchildren Meghan (Shannon), Léandre, Shannon (Nick) and Laura (Diaz) and her great-granddaughter Harriet.

Jean was born in Verdun, Quebec in 1927 and raised from a young age by her grandmother and aunts in Ottawa on Rideau Street. After finishing school, she became a secretary at the National Film Board (NFB).  A good friend at the NFB set her up on a blind date with her future husband. Jean and Colin were married in Ottawa in 1947 and then moved to Stockholm right afterwards where Jean became a secretary at the Allied Military Permit Office before giving birth to their first son, Ben. Not long after they returned to Canada and settled in Montreal, where Jean lived for the rest of her life. She travelled with Colin around the world; from the USSR to remote Fogo Island (Newfoundland) to family visits to the Low ranch in Alberta.

Jean went back to school as a mature student in her fifties to study library sciences and music at Loyola College. She became the head librarian at Roslyn Elementary School, where her philosophy was to encourage kindness and respect among her students. After retiring she maintained a very active social life, hosting dinners, living room concerts and fundraisers, participating in her book club, looking after her grandchildren and maintaining strong ties with her friends, family, the NFB and her community. After losing her husband, she became the storyteller of the family, regaling us with touching and often hilarious anecdotes. She wrote down many of these anecdotes in her witty and evocative voice and shared some of them through the NFB newsletter. These written stories have been compiled and edited by her son Ben.

As the matriarch of our family, Jean was a model of warmth and love. Her memory will live on through her family in so many ways: her love of her family, her endless gratitude, her boundless kindness to others, her delicious recipes, her joy in dancing to a good tune, her witty expressions and her dashing sense of style are only some of the lessons which she has shared with us all throughout our lives together. She always used to say, “How did I get so lucky to have this wonderful family?” But really, we were the ones lucky to have had her for so many years.

Thank you to the Manoir Beaconsfield for taking such good care of her in her final months, as well as to the caregivers who have helped her in these last few years.

A celebration of Jean’s life will be held at 2pm on Sunday, August 18 at the Unitarian Church of Montreal, 5035 Blvd. De Maisonneuve West, Montreal followed by a light snack featuring some of her favourite foods.