Isabel Brown

Isabel Brown (nee Caplan) was born in 1939 in Montreal to Millie Ostrovsky and Julius Caplan.

She obtained her teaching certificate from Macdonald College in 1958 and taught for five years in Montreal.  Isabel met Marvin Brown at a YMHA dance and they spent summers working at Camp Kindervelt in the Laurentians.  They married in 1960 and moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where Marvin did graduate work.  Isabel worked at the university library there until son Peter was born.  The family moved to Kitchener where daughters Lori and Devora were born, before the family of five settled in Saskatoon.

While raising her family, Isabel obtained her BSW (1979) and MSW (1985) from the University of Regina, and BEd (1990) from the University of Saskatchewan.  Her passion was counselling, and she worked as a caring and dedicated school counsellor/social worker and teacher for 17 years in Saskatoon, Warman, Martensville and Swift Current.

For years, Isabel volunteered with the Canadian Federation of University Women, the Saskatoon Sexual Assault and Information Centre, and at the Global Gathering Place.  She was a seasoned world traveler and enjoyed wildlife photography.

Despite living far from her cousins and family in Montreal and Toronto, they always remained close.  Isabel loved her time with her granddaughters Sara and Joanna, especially when teaching them to knit, crochet and sew.  In late 2019 Isabel moved to Ottawa to live with Lori and her family.

Isabel passed very peacefully at May Court hospice on March 4, 2020.  Her time in Ottawa was filled with a lot of love and happiness.

Isabel was predeceased by her parents Millie and Julius, husband Marvin, brother Lionel, sister-in-law and dear friend Gitte, cousin Alfie, and many aunts and uncles with whom she was very close.  Mourning her loss include son Peter (Susan McGillivray), daughter Lori (Darin Currie, Sara, Joanna) and daughter Devora (Brent Cooper).

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to May Court Hospice in Ottawa. A celebration of life will be held Sunday, April 5 from 11am-1pm at All Saints Event Space, 330 Laurier Ave E., Ottawa.  Her ashes will be laid to rest in Saskatoon this summer.