Brigitte was born 12 February 1945, outside the village of Tanvald, Czech Republic, as her mother fled the invasion of Lodz, Poland, on foot with two young sons. A subsequent six month forced migration (including a near-miraculous reunion with Brigitte's father a month after the birth) resulted in the young family settling in the small hamlet of Wetteborne, Germany.
Lean post-war years as displaced peoples instilled a drive for new opportunities. Immigration to Canada in the early 1950s (now with four children) brought the prospect of hope. The third of six siblings, Brigitte, is survived by her older brothers Peter (Maidenhead, England) and Udo (Tsawwassen, BC), her younger sister Rose (Terrace, BC) and two younger brothers Eric (Troy, Michigan) and Gordon (North Cowichan, BC).
Brigitte's long way round to living in Vancouver fortuitously led to a lifelong connection with Dave. Their 59-year marriage saw them living and working in small towns on both sides of the country before a sight-unseen move to Powell River with two young children in 1976.
Wildwood provided the backdrop for many decades of teaching, designing, knitting, choral singing, piano playing and raising family. Recently predeceased by Dave (27 November 2023), Brigitte is survived by daughter Zora, her partner Ryan and their two children Caelum and Saskia (Powell River), and son Vance, his partner Alexandra and their two children Oscar and Ruby (Vancouver). Brigitte was always present for her family and friends, turning her attention to each of them as individuals.
Brigitte was a natural, often self-taught creative who had the ability - the desire even - to make more with less. This sensibility would underscore everything, from the life choices she and Dave made around work-life balance (well before that was even a thing), to how she invested her time.
She would upcycle in creative ways, pulling apart secondhand sweaters and re-knitting them into couture creations. Her equally developed eye for line, cut and texture in fabrics melded her family's significant role in Poland's pre-war textile industry with an emerging awareness around sustainability and inventive re-use in personal fashion.
This "no-fuss virtuosity" also extended to music, with Brigitte taking great joy in playing piano by ear, often transposing on the spot in real time. When she wasn't accompanying the choir, she was singing in it. Brigitte made many close friends through her early years in the Vancouver Bach Choir, decades in the Powell River Chorus, and in later years as a member of the Ensembelles.
Good food and seasonal rituals were foundational to Brigitte's take on how to live well. She would often combine the two by making annual creations such as Easter bread in spring and fruit pies throughout the summer (her simple oil pastry recipe was shared countless times and has become a staple in the homes of many who knew her) and hosting a Christmas Eve smorgasbord feast in a house filled with candles and a Moravian advent star traditional to her early roots. Brigitte's voracious appetite for prose filled much of the in-between time, marked by her penchant for Canadian literary fiction.
This fed her often matter-of-fact observations of the human condition, always tempered with her dry sense of humour. She was a direct speaker, leaving no doubt about where she stood on matters of politics, relationships, social policy and even religious faith. Those who counted themselves lucky enough to call her a friend came to rely on Brigitte's undiluted perspectives as they worked through their own thoughts on how to live an examined life. In work as in life, Brigitte was an empathetic but firm primary school teacher who valued getting to the heart of lessons.
Family and friends were immensely fortunate to have five "bonus" years with Brigitte after her inspiring, hard-won recovery from a life-altering stroke in early 2019. While that initial neural insult may have shaded some elements of her personality, Brigitte's pervasive drive for creative growth and positive health outcomes through daily, seasonal and family rituals suggest her true essence could never be dulled.
The family encourages donations to Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and/or Powell River Hospital Foundation.
heartandstroke.ca I qathethospitalfoundation.ca
Danke schön, Brigitte.
