Jean Faux: ‘Fabulous teacher’ passes away at 103

FIRST Omagh Presbyterian Church’s oldest parishioner, who blessed others with her compassion, charitable spirit and generosity, has passed away at the grand age of 103.

Described as a ‘stalwart of her community’, Jean Faux, who was a former teacher at Omagh Academy, will always be remembered as a fabulous storyteller, whose entertaining tales will be told with fond recollection for generations to come. Born in Clones in 1919, Jean lived with her parents and three sisters until they moved to Omagh when her father joined the RUC.

They lived in the old Jaol House before her father retired, and bought the farm at Clanabogan. This serene, yet bustling, location was to be the family home until 1984, when she and her two sisters, the late Elsie and Martha, moved to 35 Dublin Road.

Jean was educated at the Omagh Model School, followed by Omagh Academy. In her final year, she was both a school prefect and captain of the Girls’ Hockey XI – testament to her conscientiousness, people and leadership skills. She later attended Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science, where, in her final year, she was awarded prizes for being a top student. Her first job was at a school in Oxfordshire, and a year later, she returned home to teach at Omagh Academy. Enjoying a very successful career at the school, she eventually became vice principal, before retiring in 1978.

Away from school, Jean was a very independent lady, and was determined to live on her own after the deaths of her three sisters, of whom she was very close to. It was there, at her Dublin Road home, that Jean’s great nephew, Malcolm Sloan, recalled his fondest memories of the ‘wonderfully compassionate’ and ‘delightfully headstrong’ lady.

“We would sit together with her photo albums, and I would listen as she recounted her adventures,” Malcolm told the UlsterHerald.

“She was great at keeping my dad in line, and often told us tales of his mischievous boyhood.

“Frugal by nature, nothing was ever thrown away as Jean always made another use for it,” he added. “’Best before’ or ‘use-by’ dates were never adhered to, and when my family came over for her 90th birthday, she offered us a drink of Shloer from a bottle… which had expired 12 years earlier!”

As she became frailer, a four-wheel aid was purchased for Jean – and even at the age of 95, she could master the infamous ‘Courthouse hill’. Most Sundays, after church and lunch, and at the young age of 96, she would enjoy a walk down to Campsie playing fields before heading home to the Dublin Road. But in 1997, of her own accord, she went into the Harold McCauley House, where she was superbly looked after.

“While frugal herself, Jean was very generous to others, and her charitable spirit was a great example for us all,” Malcolm said.

“She never had a bad word to say about anyone else, and we will always remember her as a truly lovely lady. She will be greatly missed.”