Keith Bertram Jobson

It is with great sadness that the family of Keith Jobson shares his passing at his home surrounded by family after a brief illness. Keith is pre-deceased by his wife Florence (Herr) and his sister Gwen (Prout). He leaves behind his sons Tom (Rhonda), John and David and many relatives who visited over the years. Keith was a devoted husband for 57 years to wife Florence prior to her passing four years ago, a dedicated father to his sons and a proud grandfather to Molly and Peter. As per his wishes he lived at home until his passing, gardening until his penultimate week.

Keith was raised on a mixed farm homestead 10 miles from the nearest train station at Gronlid, Saskatchewan, where his father helped create the Teddington School District. Farming a ¼ section without electricity or tractors was a dangerous way to grow up with many neighbours seriously injured or killed with little medical support in the area except for a Mennonite midwife, who one time set his broken arm after getting a wagon out of the muskeg. His stories about growing up in Teddington were endlessly fascinating and made him very endearing.

Keith received his B.A. and B.Ed from the University of Saskatchewan. He taught in one-room schoolhouses in Saskatchewan until the late 1950’s before moving to Halifax for a Bachelor of Law degree at Dalhousie University. He later earned his LL.M. and J.S.D. at Columbia University law school. My dad met my mum in Calgary at the YMCA while she was a teacher and he was working for a law firm.

In his words: “Florence and I were married on July 20, 1963, as I recall it was at the United Church, and the reception was at her family farm homestead. We left there in Florence’s Peugot filled with balloons and other goodies that her cousins and her brother Robert insisted as the way to go. We had to return to Halifax within days where we both had jobs. I was lucky enough to be recruited by Dalhousie Law School to teach criminal law and criminology, and Florence was recruited by the Halifax school board to teach school in the neighbourhood of Africville in Halifax. It was a challenge for Florence as the school was almost wholly filled with children of African American parents somewhat underfunded, but Florence enjoyed the challenges. It was a bit of a challenge for me to teach with my former teachers from my undergrad law school days, but they all helped me along and teased me about my undergraduate days there and winning the student election for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation much to the surprise of the whole university but also the larger Halifax community as well. So, Florence and I found ourselves being invited to assist the local CCF and NDP in Nova Scotia, but I tried to keep the invitations and visitations to a minimum. Anyways Florence never complained at having out-of-town guests despite having 3 young children to look after… Besides teaching I was asked to assist the federal government by serving on the Law Reform Commission and writing papers relating to reform of the criminal law, and this work involved trips to Europe to find out how things were done and had application perhaps in Canada. And remarkably Florence put up with all the comings and goings in visitations and always as cheerful and hospitable as ever. After another two or three years I had an invitation to teach law at the University of Victoria and both Florence and I decided it was better to say yes, we’ll go.”

When Keith left the Law Reform Commission to help establish the law school at the University of Victoria in 1975, he did not leave his passion for contributing to law reform. In addition to his immense contributions to help build a new law school with a new approach to legal education, he expanded into indigenous law advocating for the recognition of aboriginal title and supporting the research interests of First Nations law students. He was an indispensable creator and volunteer to many organizations such as the Western Judicial Education Centre, the Dispute Resolution Centre, the Community Mediation Centre, the Diversion Centre, the John Howard Association, the UVic Law Centre (legal aid), Aboriginal Rights Coalition and many more. Upon his retirement in 1991, in light of Keith’s abiding interest in the legal and social circumstances of indigenous peoples, the faculty created the Keith B Jobson Award.

Dad was a very unassuming and kind man who enjoyed walks with friends and family in nature parks including Glencoe Cove-Kwatsech Park, which he helped establish.

Donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Information for Keith’s memorial service will be posted at www.florencejobson.com

Condolences may be offered to the family below.

McCall Gardens
www.mccallgardens.com

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