Jean Victor Henry Joseph Brunet was born on August 15th, 1956 in Verdun, QB. He was the beloved only child of Georgette Lacombe and Maurice Brunet. He didn’t talk a lot about his childhood or teenage experiences, but from looking at photos, he seemed cheeky, happy, and very adored. He attended the Université de Sherbrooke, earning a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Computer Science in 1984. Jean met Valerie White (Tomlinson) and her three-year-old daughter, Sarah, in 1987, and by 1989, they were married with a newborn son, Nicholas. Jean commuted from Niagara Falls to Toronto for five years, before he and Valerie settled upon Barrie as the town in which they wanted to raise their family.

Jean worked at Environment Canada as a systems analyst and then an IT Team Lead for over thirty years before retiring at the age of sixty. He was loved by so many of his coworkers, and was known for his work ethic, good taste in coffee, and a plentiful stash of Ju-Jubes. With his position at Environment Canada, Jean was able to work on many different projects, and travel all around the world, something that he very much enjoyed.

In 2017, Sarah had her first daughter, and Jean became a grandfather to Olive Wilson. Unfortunately, soon after, he lost a leg due to complications from diabetes, which earned him the moniker, ‘Stumpa.’ He was a cherished Stumpa to Olive, and it was clear he treasured her as well. He became a Stumpa for the second time in 2022, to Sarah’s youngest daughter, Poppy. Jean never let his handicap negatively impact his life. He said that he told himself he wasn’t going to let it get to him, and he adapted to life in a wheelchair with grace and dignity.

Jean was known for many things, including his love of cooking (fan favourites included his spaghetti sauce, pineapple-upside-down cake, and butternut squash soup he made exclusively for Olive, lovingly known to her as ‘Stumpa Soup.’). When Olive went through treatment for leukaemia twice, Jean made it for her frequently, and at many times, it was the only thing she’d eat. Jean loved Hallmark movies, true crime shows, mystery procedurals, and read many books along the same vein. He was also an avid fan of singing and dancing competition shows. Jean had a love of physics, and at one point in his life, was a ranked chess player.

In late June of this year, Jean’s health declined very rapidly, due to renal, liver, and heart failure from his battle with diabetes. He fought tooth and nail for two and a half months at Royal Victoria Health Centre in Barrie, as he was extremely stubborn and would never give up, but on Wednesday, September 2nd, Jean passed away very quickly, with Valerie and Sarah by his side. Sarah and her husband, Mike, are so grateful that they were able to be married at RVH on August 16th, with Jean in attendance (and clean shaven!) Jean is going to be extraordinarily missed by his wife, Valerie, his daughter, Sarah (Mike), his granddaughters, Olive and Poppy, and his son, Nicholas. He will also be missed by the friends he made at Environment Canada (special thanks to Marie, his work wife, for visiting him so swiftly after finding out he was sick), and the nurses at the RVH Dialysis Clinic, where he received dialysis since 2023.

It is so difficult for us to imagine our lives without Jean, and his passing has left an immeasurable void. He was the true personification of still waters run deep. He didn’t say a lot about himself or force his opinions on people, but when he did talk, it was always spot on and respectful. He was incredibly intelligent, but was never the type to speak down to anymore. He was the kindest husband, father, father-in-law, and Stumpa. Our hearts are broken, and we are going to miss him terribly and forever.