JEAN BROWN

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JEAN BROWN

(née MOWAT)

January 22, 1928 - June 24, 2025

Jean Brown (née Mowat) aged 97, passed away on the morning of June 24, 2025, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She left us with timing and grace, surrounded by children and grandchildren, at the exact end of the very last verse of Torra Loora, the lullaby she had sung to us all.

Born on January 22, 1928, in Belmont, Manitoba, Jean might have mentioned once or twice that she was born a three pound preemie not expected to survive, but was saved by the determination of Scottish aunts who paid no attention to doctors and kept her in an apple box in a sunny winter window. With that start, she could begin an extraordinary, human, connected, life that lasted nearly a century.

Jean was an only child who lost both her parents, Bill and Jane Mowat, when she was 16. She then lived with her aunt and uncle, Donald and Annie Mowat, and completed her education at Kelvin High School, where she met her future husband, Norval Brown.

Every day until his death in 1993, Norval made Jean laugh. Soulmates and partners, Norval and Jean lived for their family - four daughters, Barbara (Leo), Dawn (Steve), Nancy (George) and Julie (Bill), eight grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. Jean believed her daughters were her life's work, her grandchildren were all geniuses, and her great-grandchildren all miracles. She was a huge presence in the family and even when she had to do it long distance, was as fully involved in our lives as if she lived next door.

Jean graduated as a nurse from the Winnipeg Children's Hospital in 1952. Despite the brevity of her career, as was true of many women of her generation, Jean defined herself entirely as a nurse. She disinfected children's toys, baked picture books in the oven to sterilize them, shared speculative diagnoses, and dispensed home remedies. The Mayo Clinic was undoubtedly bookmarked on her iPad. Jean was intelligent, intensely curious, and fascinated by everyone she met. She was resilient, resourceful, and analytical, and even when things were difficult, Jean still found them interesting. Age was a meaningless concept to her. She had a profile on Linkedin ("looking for new opportunities"), was the first 'like' on any family social media post, and was an active participant in a family Whatsapp chat appropriately named "Our clan leader is Jean."

In a second career Jean was an active volunteer at the Montreal Oral School and then worked as a classroom aide at the Society for Crippled Adults and Children in Winnipeg. Some of her best friends were made during this time in her life. She was also an active member of St. Bede's Anglican Church, the prayer circle in particular. A call to our mother about any crisis, big or small, was also met with a "don't worry. I'll put you on the prayer list."

Our mother and grandmother leaves behind no recipes and few heirlooms, only more framed family pictures than we know what to do with, and a phone number none of us will ever forget.

Special thanks to the nursing staff of 5 South of the Grace Hospital for a quality of care and compassion our mother would have endorsed, and to our wonderful cousin Kathleen Thomson who did so much to support Jean in her life and our family at the time of her passing.

A memorial service to celebrate Jean's life will be held August 25 at 11:00 a.m. at Neil Bardal Funeral Centre, 3030 Notre Dame Avenue, Winnipeg.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 02, 2025