Jennifer Clarkson

Jennifer Linda Vanderklei Clarkson passed away on Oct. 9 at the Greater Niagara General Hospital. She was born in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, on Aug. 4, 1953, and came to Canada with her parents, Tony and Kathleen (Pole) Vanderklei, later that year. “Jza Jza” grew up in Fort Erie, graduated from Fort Erie Secondary School, and was married to author Michael Clarkson for 50 years. They lived in Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Calgary, Mississauga and Toronto.

Jennifer had a variety of interesting jobs. For the past 25 years, she was one of Canada’s leading agents for professional speakers with the National Speakers Bureau and The Talent Bureau. She interacted with such celebrities as Gen. Romeo Dallaire, former U.S. First Lady Hilliary Clinton, Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and sex educator Sue Johanson. In Niagara Falls in the 1980s, Jennifer was employed by the Boys and Girls Club and volunteered as president of the New Democratic Party and the Niagara Falls Minor Soccer Club.

She is survived by her loving family – Michael of Fort Erie, their sons Paul of Maple, Ont., and Kevin of Binbrook, Ont., grandchildren Naomi Skye, Hannah, Callie, and Amelia, daughter-in-law Christie, mother Kathleen, brothers Craig, Larry, and Wayne Vanderklei, brother-in-law Steve Clarkson, sisters-in-law Chantal Vanderklei and Betty Wei, and many nieces and nephews. Friends and family knew her as a warm, soulful, trustworthy person with an engaging personality and a penchant for watching sports, British TV, and Facebook. Her bravery battling cancer and other ailments for many years inspired all those who knew her. She is still giving – her organs were donated for research. A celebration of Jennifer’s life will be held at a date to be set.