Elizabeth Mary Stuart Jakeway (née Scholefield)
March 21, 1942 – December 12, 2025
Elizabeth (Liz) Jakeway died on December 12, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta. She had been lovingly cared for by her husband, George, since she first showed signs of dementia in the early 2000s. For the past twelve years, George rarely missed a day serving her both lunch and dinner while Liz was in long term care at Capital Care Lynnwood.
Liz was born on March 21, 1942 to Gordon and Dorothy Scholefield in Vancouver, BC. The eldest of six children, Liz attended Lord Byng High School and then trained as a combined physio and occupational therapist in the first class of rehabilitation medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She soon discovered the reward that came from working with those who had brain injuries or strokes and devoted her career to these patients.
On June 14, 1968, Liz married George Jakeway, who was studying medicine at UBC. Together they moved to Edmonton where Liz worked as a physio at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, while George interned at the adjacent Royal Alexandra Hospital. After welcoming their first two children—Bruce in Edmonton, and Steve in Calgary where George completed his residency as a family physician—they moved to Bolivia to live and work in a one-doctor outpatient clinic in the Chapare region as an outreach of the Baptist Church. Carolina (Cara) was born during this time and so, along with assisting at the clinic and local church, Liz also nurtured a growing family. After three years in Bolivia, Liz, George and the kids returned to Edmonton; the birth of Alex soon completed the family. While being an active mother of four, Liz continued to shine as a busy physician’s wife and engaged participant of St. Paul’s Anglican Church. In the mid-1980s, a former colleague encouraged Elizabeth to return to work as a physio at the Glenrose where she remained on a part time basis until her retirement in 2004.
All these life highlights really don’t do justice to a strong woman who quietly changed the lives of everyone around her with her care, devotion and faith. She fueled her life of service with a daily crossword puzzle and a cup of coffee, and through her enjoyment of bird watching, jigsaw puzzles, stamp collecting, and the symphony. Liz and George continued to serve throughout the world on many short-term medical missions and, for some reason or another, Liz always found a good excuse to visit her mother and siblings, and especially to travel with her sisters, Jane and Marian.
Elizabeth is survived by her husband, George; her children, Bruce Jakeway, Stephen Jakeway (Sheena Spear), Carolina Roemmich, Alexander (Alexandra) Jakeway; fifteen grandchildren, two foster grandchildren; her siblings, Jane (John) Green, Stuart (Wendy) Scholefield, David Scholefield (DJ Kearney), and Alan Scholefield (Leah Hausman); and predeceased by her sister and brother-in-law Marian and Graham Holt.
Please consider a donation in memory of Elizabeth Jakeway to:
Glenrose Hospital Foundation (10230 111 Ave, Edmonton, AB Canada T5G 0B7)
Or,
Alzheimer’s Society of Canada (Allendale Professional Centre
#306, 10430-61 Ave, Edmonton, AB T6H 2J3)