Barbara Johannsen passed away peacefully in Ottawa on February 3rd, 2021. She will be deeply missed by her daughter Beverley, her granddaughter Ashley (Justin), great-grandson Charlie, her many nieces and nephews and her beloved cat Gingerbread. She is predeceased by her first husband Oliver Akins, second husband Robert C.D. Laughton and third husband John (Jack) Johanssen as well as her son-in-law Paul Brown, parents Eugene and Mabelle Joly (née Hughes), siblings Yvonne, Patricia (Bill), Anita (Cliff), Olivier, Norman (Mel), Lorraine (Bill) and Janet (Brian). She will be dearly remembered by Robert and Jack’s adult children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Having just turned 100 years old on December 20th, 2020, Barbara lived a very full life. She was born in Maidenhead, England and moved to Ottawa in 1922. In the 1940s she met her first husband, Oliver, and together they started Akins Printing Ltd. She handled a number of aspects of the business, including sales, and was a long-standing member of the Ottawa Ad Club. Summers were spent sailing and golfing with friends and family at their cottage at Pine Lodge, Quebec. After Oliver passed in the mid 70s, Barbara travelled to Hong Kong to visit her sister Janet and her family and travelled through Europe. In 1979 Barbara married Robert Laughton (Cappie) and they enjoyed summers at their cottage at Beechgrove, skiing and skating in the winter along with travels to South Korea. After Robert’s passing Barbara met and married Jack Johannsen in 1991. They enjoyed many years together living in Amberwood Village, Stittsville as well as winters in Daytona Beach, Florida. They enjoyed travelling but were also content spending their summers at their cottage in the 1000 Islands and golfing at Grenadier Island Country Club where they established many wonderful friendships. Barbara was an entrepreneur ahead of her time and is remembered fondly as a hard working, elegant woman with a keen wit. Of all the things Barbara was able to accomplish in her life, she was especially happy to have had the chance to meet and spend time with her great-grandson who was born in October. Barbara was really excited when she received the gold embossed certificate from the Queen on her 100th birthday. Not long before she passed, Barbara said “she was working on her next 100 years” and we are sure those next 100 will be spent watching over those she loved.
Barbara was buried February 8th, 2021, in a small outdoor service and we look forward to planning a celebration of life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Ottawa Food Bank www.ottawafoodbank.ca/donate or the Ottawa Heart Institute foundation.ottawaheart.ca/make-a-donation/ways-to-give would be appreciated. We wish to thank the staff at the Chartwell Empress Kanata and My Place Home Care for taking such good care of Barbara.
Wednesday February 3rd 2021
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Barbara Johannsen Joly Wednesday February 3rd 2021..
Décès pour la Ville:Ottawa, Province: Ontario