Obituary for Elizabeth Westman Wilson (Brownell)
Elizabeth Westman Wilson
1935–2022
Elizabeth died peacefully on April 11, five days after suffering a massive stroke and eleven days after joyously celebrating her 87th birthday with a few close friends.
She was the daughter of Ralph and Evelyn (Westman) Brownell and predeceased by her former husband, Philip Wilson. She is survived by a family she loved and mentored: her daughters Julia Deans (Graeme) and Diana Lawrence (David) and their children, Ben, Penny (Andrea), Cameron, and Gwen; Ian Montagnes, her husband for 38 happy years; and step-children David Montagnes (Fiona), Joan Montagnes (Martin), and John Mahler (Eileen),
Elizabeth was a strong dynamic woman with strong opinions and a big, generous heart. She was endlessly interested in other people and was never happier than when entertaining them. As a professional and volunteer she worked for organizations that spread knowledge locally and internationally. She was an artist, author, opera lover, communicator, community builder and leader.
She relished seizing each fresh creative opportunity, whether that was writing an introduction to Oriental ceramics while living in the Philippines, advising on fundraising in Azerbaijan, visiting the antiquities of Iran at 80, or co-founding both a jazz festival and a series of opera talks in Port Hope, where she and Ian moved in 1996.
Celebrations of her life will be held in Toronto in May and beside her pool in Port Hope in midsummer.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation, the Northumberland Learning Connection, or your favourite charity.
1935–2022
Elizabeth died peacefully on April 11, five days after suffering a massive stroke and eleven days after joyously celebrating her 87th birthday with a few close friends.
She was the daughter of Ralph and Evelyn (Westman) Brownell and predeceased by her former husband, Philip Wilson. She is survived by a family she loved and mentored: her daughters Julia Deans (Graeme) and Diana Lawrence (David) and their children, Ben, Penny (Andrea), Cameron, and Gwen; Ian Montagnes, her husband for 38 happy years; and step-children David Montagnes (Fiona), Joan Montagnes (Martin), and John Mahler (Eileen),
Elizabeth was a strong dynamic woman with strong opinions and a big, generous heart. She was endlessly interested in other people and was never happier than when entertaining them. As a professional and volunteer she worked for organizations that spread knowledge locally and internationally. She was an artist, author, opera lover, communicator, community builder and leader.
She relished seizing each fresh creative opportunity, whether that was writing an introduction to Oriental ceramics while living in the Philippines, advising on fundraising in Azerbaijan, visiting the antiquities of Iran at 80, or co-founding both a jazz festival and a series of opera talks in Port Hope, where she and Ian moved in 1996.
Celebrations of her life will be held in Toronto in May and beside her pool in Port Hope in midsummer.
Donations in her memory may be made to the Northumberland Hills Hospital Foundation, the Northumberland Learning Connection, or your favourite charity.