WHITMAN, Jean Emily - 76, of Middleton, N.S. died Thursday, June 30, 2011 in Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, Middleton. Born in Kentville, she was the daughter of the late Harold Allister and Emily Jean (Brown) Whitman. She was raised by her grandparents, Leander and Grace (Jenkins) Whitman on a small farm deep in the Annapolis Valley at Carleton Corner, and later by her grandmother in nearby Lawrencetown. Jean was a graduate of Lawrencetown High School and later became a registered nurse after graduating from the Sherbrooke Hospital School of Nursing in Quebec. She worked as a nurse in Sherbrooke, Montreal, Victoria, B.C. and St. John's, Nfld. Along the way, she also became a weaver and a stained glass artisan. But her greatest love was the art of painting. After she retired from nursing, she earned a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from the Nova Scotia School of Art & Design (NSCAD) in Halifax, and later moved to Middleton where she built a year-round art studio in her back yard. Abstract art was her forte, mostly in oils, but she also worked in a variety of other media, with notable expertise in egg tempera and encaustic techniques. She found great joy in the colours and textures of her creations. She was a member of the Greenwood Artists' Circle, and for many years, organized art shows in the outpatient department of Soldiers' Memorial Hospital. Jean was a child of her beloved Annapolis Valley and the Bay of Fundy not far away. Although she lived in four other provinces during her adult life, she always longed to return to the land and sea of Nova Scotia. Many of her happiest summer hours were spent at Kittiwake, her cottage at Port George for sixteen years, and Mavillette Provincial Park where she maintained a trailer on a small piece of property to walk the beach and marvel at the power and beauty of the sea. She was an enthusiastic practitioner of yoga, and writer of haikus:

See me as I was
Not as I am, dying.
We were all young once.
April 11/11

She is survived by her husband, Curtis "Hugh" Doherty; son, John "David" Hugh Doherty (Wendy McKim), Upper Sackville, NS; daughters, Patricia Grace Doherty (David Kelk), Toronto; Jennifer Jean Melindy (Joseph), Embrun, Ontario; Andrea Margaret Cameron (Larry), Toronto; brother, Harold Allister Whitman, Port George, NS and grandchildren, Brooklyn Jean Doherty; Margaret Grace Kelk; Tara Jean Melindy and Madeline Doreen Emily Cameron. At Jean's request, cremation has taken place and there will be no services. Donations in Jean's memory may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or to a charity of choice. Arrangements have been entrusted to Middleton Funeral Home, 398 Main St., (902) 825-3448. On-line condolences may be made through: www.middletonfuneralhome.com.