BROWN, Barbara Jean (Nee: MacMillan)
March 10, 1941 – March 7, 2022
How do you sum up the life of a beautiful soul that touched the lives of so many? Just shy of her 81st birthday, our beloved Mom and master organizer has finally crossed off the last item of her to-do list. Heaven has welcomed a new angel. Barbara, affectionately known as “Nana,” passed away peacefully at Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice surrounded by her immediate family.
She will be lovingly remembered by her husband, William (Bill), of almost 59 years, her three daughters and their partners, Carri (Ginny), Leslie (Michelle), and Joni (Hugh), her seven incredible grandchildren Christopher (Emily), Bella, Amanda, Cosette, Reave, Taite, Cooper, and her younger sister Ann Wildfong (Jim) and sister-in-law Sue MacMillan (Bill). She will also be sadly missed by many other extended family members and friends. She is predeceased by her father Allan MacMillan, her mother Mabel MacMillan, and her three older siblings, George, Gladys, and Bill.
Barbara (“Barb”) was born in Hamilton and lived a life filled with love and laughter. After graduating from Central Secondary High School in 1959, she began working in an administrative role at the Hamilton District School Board where she met one of her dearest, life-long friends, Lorraine Topp. Her best friend, Joan Harper, was responsible for coordinating the “match made in heaven” when she introduced Barb and Bill at a bowling alley. She encouraged Bill to invite Barb to the Burlington Steel Christmas party. He mustered up the courage to ask, and the rest is history. After three short months of dating, Bill popped the question.
Married in 1963, Bill and Barb began their incredible life together. After living in Hamilton for their first few years of marriage, they settled in Burlington and purchased their first home in 1966 before starting their family. In 1967, their first daughter, Carri, arrived on the scene. Leslie arrived in 1969, and Joni in 1971 – a “well-planned” family as Barb always used to say. When her youngest daughter entered school full-time, Barb returned to work. Hired by the Halton District School Board, she worked as the much-loved secretary at Mountain Gardens Public School. They soon outgrew their home on Mountain Grove and moved to their “forever home” on Westbury. With the addition of a swimming pool, their home soon became the central gathering spot of the neighbourhood.
Family was everything to Barb, and it shows in the lives of her children and grandchildren. The Brown home was always a-buzz and welcomed all. Barb dedicated her life to her husband and her children and grandchildren, whether it was spending time at the kitchen table helping with homework, attending dance recitals and field hockey tournaments, keeping tempo at the piano while practising, or shuttling her children (and eventually grandchildren), to extracurricular activities. She did it all.
Some of the many things she will be remembered for include her beautiful penmanship, homemade lunches, ironing t-shirts, love of musicals, always remembering birthdays and anniversaries and honouring them with a card in the mail, potato logs, date squares, brown sugar sandwiches, “whacky” icing, her strong dislike of garlic, arriving at the theatre well-before showtime, and her two favourite sayings: “Ask me no questions, and I’ll tell you know lies,” and “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say it at all.”
Due to COVID, a funeral will not be held at this time. A celebration of life will take place at a later date. The family would like to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to the wonderfully caring and committed staff at Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice who cared for Barbara in her final days of life.
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Monday March 7th 2022
Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Barbara Jean Brown MacMillan Monday March 7th 2022..
Décès pour la Ville:, Province: Ontario