Jill & Paul Marchand
We met online in 2003, much to the shock of our families. Both had dogs and learned that we had many complementary interests. Paul, a retired mechanical engineer, is a keen genealogist and collector of antique bottles related to a family business that began before Confederation. Jill, whose antiquing interest are in the kitchen and crafting domains, has a background in IT and project management. Love of canoeing and outdoor adventures took us on canoe trips up to 12 days in the wilderness of Algonquin Park, retiring from all that in 2012 we began to create handiwork adventures (aka the endless list) for a small cabin in the Madawaska Valley in Ontario.
In the meantime, our three adult children headed off in different directions, one to Vancouver Island. After many Christmas holidays visiting Vancouver Island and then returning to -20°C in Ontario, Jill began the crusade to relocate on retirement.
In 2019, before it was the norm, we bought a house in Sooke sight unseen, with the help of our awesome realtor. Sooke was a great place to sit out the pandemic and we formed wonderful community connections. Unfortunately, we were too far from our daughter so we moved but the new place lacked the community connection. We decided to move again but wanted to be sure that we were going to somewhere that provided a multi-generational community and social connection with like-minded people.
We are both are focused on green energy, environmental responsibility, living light on the land, community engagement and volunteering. Jill also loves to cook and enjoys sharing both the food and the skills with others. Paul is awesome at cleaning up the mess left behind after the cooking adventures.
From our exposure to cohousing in Sooke and Margaret’s wonderful stewardship, we look forward to bucking another trend and choose a collaborative community to retire and thrive in a supportive environment.
We would be remiss if we didn’t introduce Sherman, our Boxer dog. Sherman loves long walks, lots of cuddles and cookies. Sherman is incredibly social and his mission is to win over everyone into his pack. We also have a very close relationship with our Island grandchild, who spends a lot of time with us.
