Dorothy Isabel Brown

Brown, Dorothy Isabel (Nee Colpitts)….

Peacefully, surrounded by her family, at McCormick Home on Tuesday, February 21, 2017, aged 98. Predeceased by her dear husband, Russell and brothers Frederick, Robert and Herman.  Cherished mother of Leslie Brown (Robert Lewin), Heather (Richard) Lemon, Shelley Markland, Pam (Peter) MacGinnis, Paul Brown (Sandie Tario). Beloved granny of Deanna, Alison, Brent, Meredith, Jordan, Andrea, Erica, Sarah, Elizabeth and Alannah: great-granny of Victoria, Kennedy, Finlay, Ryder, Ciara,Jasmine, Blake, Tyler, Jesse, Alison and Brody. Survived by her sister-in-law, Eleanor Hutchinson of Barrie, numerous nieces and nephews and dear family friends. “Do all the good things that you can, to all the people that you can, in all the ways that you can”. Dorothy’s own words say everything about how she lived her long and full life. A woman of great inner strength, fortitude and resilience, Dorothy had to find her own way from the time she was orphaned at age 11. Sent to live with a succession of
relatives in the U.S., Nova Scotia and Moncton, it was in the latter that Dorothy completed high school and business college. By age 17, she was self-supporting while also overseeing support of her brothers. During the war years, Dorothy remained in Moncton and worked as a passenger again for Air Canada. In 1941, she married Russell and upon his return from overseas war duty, started a family.  Within a few years of relocation to London in 1951, Dorothy was then the mother of five children born within 8 years. Dorothy worked as a secretary during these busy parenting years, retiring at age 65 after 25 years with the London Board of Education. To motherhood and work, Dorothy added a strong volunteer, church and community service commitment. She was an active member of Beta Sigma Phi, First Baptist Church and the Home and School Association, a volunteer for a crisis hotline and a 9-year volunteer with the London Regional Cancer Centre. An avid reader of history and philosophy, at age 70 Dorothy was able to devote the next 10 years to a comprehensive family history intended to “knit together our lost pieces”. “Our Family Story” is a treasured family legacy. Yet Dorothy’s family remember her most vividly as the loving mother and granny who found the time and energy to bake and cook from scratch, sew our clothes and our doll wardrobes, host large family gatherings, attend parent/teacher nights, provide an open door to anyone in need of a bed, a hot meal and a shoulder to lean on. Self-effacing, stoic, guided by her strong Christian faith, Dorothy was and remains the moral and ethical centre of her family.  She held her family to old-fashioned values and principles of hard work, integrity and responsibility, encouraging her family “to always do and be their best, never hurt others, and to love and help each other”. Dorothy lived by example. Her kind, wise and generous spirit will continue to light the lives of all who have been held within her warm and loving presence. Dorothy’s family wish to express our gratitude to McCormick Home for its outstanding quality of care. As a resident on Maple Grove, Dorothy felt “at home and at peace” under the warm, compassionate and attentive eye of all care team staff. Friends and family will be received at A. Millard George Funeral Home, 60 Ridout Street South, London, on Monday, February 27, 2017 from 12-1pm, where the service will be held at 1pm. Cremation to follow. Private family interment. If desired, in memoriam donations may be made to McCormick Care Foundation, Life Enrichment Program 2022 Kains Road, London, ON N6K0A8. Online condolences, memories and photographs shared at www.amgfh.com