The Mapleton community lost a special citizen and a key figure in local history with the passing of Jean Campbell on June 14.
Campbell, who died at her home at the age of 80, was a longtime Drayton village clerk, ardent local historian and active community volunteer.
A native of what is now Mapleton Township, Campbell was raised in former Peel Township, where her parents, Wilson and Hulda Cunningham, ran a mixed farming operation.
After attending the Drayton Continuation School she married Lloyd Campbell, who passed away in 1992, and the couple lived in Kitchener for 17 years. They had five children, two girls and three boys. Their eldest daughter Bonnie, died in 2009. Their other daughter Mary, married Terry Downey and they live in Drayton. Their eldest son, Earl is married to Theresa Downey and resides at Rothsay. Sam married Bonnie McRae and they live in Kitchener. Jim and his wife Melinda live in Cambridge. Amongst them there are 11 grandchildren.
In 1971, Jean and Lloyd returned to live in the area and she ran a general store in Alma until 1974, when the couple sold the business and Jean returned briefly to high school in Fergus.
Shortly after, she spotted an advertisement for a clerk for the Village of Drayton and on Feb. 1, 1975, she embarked on a 17-year career in municipal administration.
Among the major municipal projects Campbell was involved in as clerk were the collaboration between Peel, Maryborough and Drayton to build the PMD arena and the installation of water and sewer systems in Drayton.
Although she did take a municipal clerk-treasurer course by correspondence after landing the job, Campbell maintained there was much more to be learned through on-the-job experiences.
Campbell’s impact on local government in Mapleton continued to the present day.
Mayor Neil Driscoll said he often consulted with Campbell to get a past perspective on current issues.
“Ever since I’ve been on council she was the type of person that I could go to for any sort of history,” said Driscoll. Former Drayton and Mapleton mayor John Green said Campbell had a knack for providing advice diplomatically.
“She was very diligent in what she did. She was very sincere and she was very soft spoken and kind, but she had a unique way of talking you into things and getting her way if she thought it was the right thing to do,” Green recalled.
In 2006, Campbell joined the Mapleton Historical Society. Among her first duties with the group was a quarterly Newsletter, which she typed and mailed out. She spent a term as president of the society and was involved in establishing a space for the group at the local library.
Historical society president Floyd Schieck said Campbell was heavily involved in all aspects of the organization and will be sorely missed.
“She did just about everything. She was the greatest one for history, local history,” said Schieck.
He noted the society was recently put in a tough spot when one of its speakers didn’t show up for the group’s April meeting.
“[Jean] was able to put together a presentation (on the CBC’s Farm Radio Forum of the ‘40s to ‘60s) within just a couple of days,” said Schieck.
Campbell was also actively involved with the Wellington County Historical Society. The society’s recently-released 2016 history journal contains two articles under her byline.
Perhaps one of Campbell’s most enduring contributions to local history can be found within the pages of Mapleton’s Newspaper the Community News, sister paper of the Advertiser. Mapleton Musings, written by Campbell and various members of the Mapleton Historical Society, has appeared in the Community News since 2006, with Campbell doing the lion’s share of the writing .
Campbell felt the columns, and the work of the historical society in general, will prove vital to future generations.
“I think it’s important that my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren if I ever have any (she now has five), can connect with this township,” she said in the 2013 interview.
Campbell played a major role in another piece of local history. In 1990 she became secretary-treasurer of the Drayton Festival Theatre, originally run through a committee of Drayton council.
In addition to an administrative role, Campbell also worked with the theatre organization, heading up the wardrobe department.
Even before the professional organization was established, Campbell was a part of the local theatre scene as a member of the Drayton Community Players, with whom she took on roles both on stage and behind the scenes.
Campbell has also been a longtime member of the Drayton Rotary Club and has served with the local agricultural society, Drayton Citizen’s Association, the Mapleton Cemetery Committee and as a volunteer driver for Wellington Community Services. She could also be found performing a variety of roles at local polling stations during elections.
That lengthy resume of volunteer work led to Campbell being presented with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
“I don’t know of a committee or an organization that she hasn’t been involved in,” stated Driscoll. “Any task or question that you had for her, she was never too busy to take the time to help you.”
Although she had stepped away from active involvement in some organizations in recent years, she remained very involved in others, Green pointed out, adding she was “still very passionate” about the historical society.
“She was still having an impact on the community in her own quiet way,” he noted.
A celebration of Campbell’s life will be held June 26 at the PMD arena in Drayton at 1pm.
