Jean Kucharski, who had a lifetime involvement with the Guiding movement in Arbroath and Angus, has died aged 93.
She joined the Guides in Arbroath during the Second World War, became a leader in the 1960s and served four years as Guide District Commissioner.
In later years she was active in Arbroath branch of Friends of Guiding, raising funds to maintain the Guide Hall.
Camping
Guiding became a vocation to Jean. She was a mentor to many and was particularly fond of running camps.
Jean’s whole life was spent in Arbroath. She was born at 6 South Grimsby in January, 1929, to Charles and Jean Cameron and moved to 39 Green Street when she was six.
Jean was the youngest of six children. She had four brothers, Charles, John, Robert and Kenneth and a sister, Violet.
Marriage
She met her future husband, John Kucharski, at the dancing and they married when Jean was 18.
Their only child, Michael, was born in 1948. The family continued to live in Green Street before moving to Gedy Place in 1955 where Jean formed a friendship with neighbour Chrissie Crowe that lasted 67 years.
Her son Michael said: “She started as a Guide during the war and fell in love with the movement.
“She affirmed her love for the Guides when she joined the Arbroath leadership team in the early 1960s.
Mentor
“She mentored these developing young adults and worked hard at ensuring that camping, both locally and internationally, was a very memorable and character-building experience for them.”
Jean was district commissioner for four years until her retiral in 1994 but she remained active in Friends of Guiding and the Trefoil Guild.
She was also a volunteer with the Salvation Army and served lunches twice a week for many years.
Honoured
In 2008, the Rotary Club of Arbroath presented her with a vocational award for her services to the Guides and the Salvation Army.
Jean had a deep, lifelong faith which was evident in every area of her life.
“Her walk with God started when she was two when she first went to Sunday school,” said Michael.
“She loved her family and treated everybody she met as family. She was totally selfless and never judgmental.”
Jean is survived by Michael, her grandchildren Marisia, Michelle and Matthew, and great-grandchildren, Joe, Oliver, William, Mary and Caber.
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