Janice M. Yalden (Nee Shaw)

Janice Yalden passed away peacefully on the morning of May 2, 2021 with her son Robert by her side. She is predeceased by Max, her beloved husband for over 60 years.  A loving mother to Robert and the late Cicely Yalden, she was a warm and caring mother-in-law and grandmother to Pearl Eliadis and Zoë Yalden. She also leaves behind her younger brother Richard Shaw, with whom she shared many cherished memories of life as children in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

Janice was born in Kingston, Jamaica on December 12, 1931 and arrived in Canada in the 1940's as a young student. With Canada came a rich and rewarding personal and professional journey. She met Max through the Vic Drama Club in 1950, received her BA from the University of Toronto (Victoria College) in 1952, and her MA from the University of Michigan in 1956. She accompanied Max on various diplomatic postings, including in Moscow and Paris, before settling into a long and fruitful academic career. In 1971, Janice was appointed Assistant Professor in the Department of Spanish at Carleton University and in 1976 was appointed Associate Professor in the Department of Linguistics. She became the founding Director of Carleton’s Centre for Applied Language Studies and was subsequently named Professor of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies. From 1979 to 1982 she served as Associate Dean and from 1987 to 1992 as Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Carleton.  Janice authored numerous articles and books about modern language and ESL teaching, program design and evaluation, including The Communicative Syllabus: Evolution, Design and Implementation (Oxford, Pergamon Press, 1983) and Principles of Course Design for Language Teaching (Cambridge University Press, 1987). 

Janice was the glue that held her family together, supporting Max in his career as a public servant while raising two children who loved her very much.  She created a warm and welcoming home, was a gifted cook, read widely and loved good conversation. She managed all of this while contributing in so many important ways to Carleton University’s growth, as well as to the theory and practice of second language teaching.  In retirement, she began another chapter: spending many months each year in the home that she and Max adored in the Provençal village of Sablet; making new friends while warmly welcoming old ones; and finding particular pleasure in becoming an accomplished watercolourist – with her work shown in Ottawa and Provence.  

The family wishes to thank Marilyn Sola for the extraordinary support that she provided to Janice over so many years, as well as the attentive nurses and staff at the Edinburgh Retirement Residence who, together with some remarkable physicians from The Ottawa Hospital, assisted in so many ways with Janice’s care in recent months.

A private burial will be held. A celebration of Janice’s life will take place at a later date.  Donations in memory of Janice may be made to the Canadian Red Cross or to The Ottawa Hospital.