The Ajijic expatriate community lost a valued friend and tireless contributor with the passing of Claudette Stevenson on May 29 in Ottawa, Ontario.
Stevenson was born in Edmonton and later lived in Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. She was a long term employee of the Toronto Dominion Bank and after retirement and the death of her husband, Bill, she spent her winters in Lakeside.
Stevenson soon put to use her knowledge of computers and the Internet in support of both the Canadian Club of Lake Chapala and the Scotiabank Northern Lights Music Festival, maintaining and improving their websites for several years.
She was a keen photographer and traveller and generously shared her experiences with her friends. She loved Mexico.
During the winter months she lived in San Antonio. A great walker, she would meander through La Floresta into Ajijic and it was always a pleasure to encounter her big smile and warm manner in the streets of the village. She was one of the most sociable people one could ever wish to meet and her companionship at social events and gatherings at home was always appreciated by her many friends, who will sorely miss her.
Stevenson handled her final challenge with the dignity and good humor which were so characteristic of her, and which was so apparent in the blog she maintained until the week before she died, her means of communicating with her very wide circle of friends.
Stevenson is survived by her sons, John and Louis, her brothers Don and John, and her sisters Madeleine and Terri.