Jeannine Natasha Bailliu

Mes plus sincères condoléances à la famille et vous souhaite beaucoup de courage pour traverser cette épreuve difficile.

My deepest condolences to Jeannine’s friends and family. Though I knew Jeannine for a short time, her kindness made a lasting impression. She will be dearly missed.

Mes sincères condoléances à ses fils ; et à toute sa famille . Elle est partie trop tôt vraiment triste mais sa chaleur humaine restera dans tous vos cœurs J ai fait une donation à Ottawa food bank et INSPIRE deux belles causes qui reflètent le grand cœur que votre bien aimé avait

I was very saddened to hear of Jeannine's passing. My sincerest condolences to her family and friends. I worked for Jeannine for many years at the Bank and have very fond memories of her. She was a generous spirit and always supportive to her colleagues. May we carry our memories of her with kindness.

Nos sincères condoléances à Jacques, Anne, Leslie ainsi qu’à toute la famille.
Jeannine a quitté ce monde trop tôt. Bon courage en ces moments difficiles. Nos pensées sont avec vous.

Jeannine, today we were going to meet up in Geneva to spend a week in the Swiss Alps. This will not happen. I am still numb, heartbroken. But I will never let you go. A friend like you does not disappear – they stay and continue to be part of us.

I met you in the early 1990s when you had just returned from a year in Argentina. I was so impressed by you as a person. And this deep respect never waned over the years – it only grew.

To me, you will always remain an extraordinary woman. A true pioneer. As a woman. As an economist. As a friend. And also as a mother. As a daughter. As a sister.

As a professional, you were always ahead of the curve. You wrote seminal papers on exchange rates, on emerging countries, on China. You tackled AI before most people did. And when you spoke, people listened to what you had to say.

As a person, you were kind, soft-spoken, erudite (equally in French and English, and Spanish) and yet so courageous, ready to speak up when you had something to say. You will be remembered with love, with admiration, and with deep respect for who you were, for what you brought to the world – particularly your beautiful, smart, wonderful boys, Liam and Daniel.

I am so grateful to have met you in my 20s, to have had a friend like you as we grew into mature women together, to have had the immense honour to share the best years of my life with you. You will not be forgotten. You are loved. And this love will always extend to your loved ones.

With all my love to Liam, Daniel, Anne, Leslie, and Jacques.

My deep condolences. Jeannine was a beautiful human being inside and out—kind, warm, inclusive, intellectually vibrant and generous in spirit. I met Jeannine shortly after Eric started working at the Bank of Canada in 2001 and we remained friends since then. In 2006, Jeannine suggested starting a book club together. The endurance of the friendship and of the book club is a testament to Jeannie’s ability to take concrete initiatives and actions that add richness and belonging to the lives of those around her.

One of the discussion topics that often comes up in book clubs is voice and narrative point of view. If Jane Austen had the opportunity to observe today’s gentry, she might have had some wry comments to offer about the invisible restrictions that can at times make this world hard to navigate for a soul in possession of genuine good will. An omniscient narrator in the realistic style of Tolstoy can describe characters’ innermost trains of thought as they go through life in society. I wish that rather than simply enjoying her kindness, I would have asked Jeannine more about her inner thoughts and feelings. I wish that I could also borrow the voice of a realistic narrator to tell Jeannine about the impact that her warmth had on the movements of my own mind: that every time I spent time with her, her kind nature had an uplifting effect that often made me tell Eric that Jeannine exudes an “old school” feeling of security and civility that makes her so pleasant to be around. Every time Jeannine asked me if I wanted to go for a walk, I was reminded that friendship could be real and present. When Jeannine told me that she would like to come and celebrate Jewish holidays with us at our home, I felt my heart expand. And when Jeannine gave me divinely soft cashmere gloves for my 50th birthday, I wrote an online review at the store to say that Jeannine's generous gift gave me the feeling of “forever” every time I put on the gloves. Forever is a word that I associate with Jeannine.

Jeannine will have an abiding presence. Her fierce yet kind spirit will remind me of the human ability to listen to one’s calling. About a week after Jeannine passed away, we celebrated Chanukah at home. The gentle yet striking light of the candles reminded us of Jeannine’s spirit. Chaim Potok remembers what his father told him in 1938: “Sometimes I think man is a greater miracle-maker than God” because “God does not have to live day after day on this broken planet. . . I will teach you how to make human miracles.” Jeannine left a legacy of concrete actions, initiatives and effort guided by emotional and intellectual intelligence that added light to the lives of others and that made the luxury of her friendship feel like a natural and abundant presence—so much so that I worry I might have not told her often enough how much I appreciated her. I will miss you, Jeannine, and I will be speaking with you in my mind when I need a reassuring reminder that the world, however rough, still has Jeannine’s light in it.

Que les précieux souvenirs de Jeannine vous apportent du réconfort dans cette période difficile. Toutes nos condoléances.

Dear Anne and family,
My heart is with you during this incredibly painful time. I am so deeply sorry for the loss of your beloved sister. She was clearly a source of great love and joy, and her presence will always be felt through the lives she touched.
Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers, and I hope you are surrounded by comfort, strength, and love in the days ahead. May her memory be a blessing and a source of peace to all who loved her.