Irean Jessie Brown

She was born in the city of New Westminster on April 2, 1923 to John Henry and Shirley Marie (Emma) Hoult, nee Orford. She was predeceased by her parents and her two brothers (John Henry Hoult Jr. and Edward Stanley Hoult) and three sisters (Iona Maud Lorencz, Shirley Joyce Hoult, Beverly Patricia Campbell), as well her ex-husband Tom Gorden Brown. She is survived by her daughter Lea Shirley Brown (and her husband Keith Raymond Currah) and her grandsons Edward Thomas Duemo (and his wife Chelsie Ann Price-Leibenzeder) and Frederick Clinton Brown (and his wife Elisabeth Danielle Douglas). She is also survived by her great-granddaughter Billie Ann Duemo, daughter to Edward and Chelsie.

Irean served in World War II as a driver in Western Canada with the Canadian Army, where she took up smoking. After the war, she went on to work for many illustrious years at the Bank of Montreal working at many branches in New Westminster, Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey, where she became one of the first female branch managers, until she retired. The things she enjoyed doing were skiing, swimming, tanning, playing Bridge and International, spending summers in Boundary Bay, dancing, crocheting, and sewing. She loved animals and had many pets over the years. She loved to bake, and was an excellent cook; her family looked forward to her Sunday dinners. In 1979 she was diagnosed with and survived breast cancer. She was a strong, hard-working woman who provided well for her family.

In her retirement, she enjoyed teaching and playing Bridge and taking Hawaiian dance lessons at Century House until her grandsons were born, when she dedicated herself to help raise them. She was diagnosed in this time with early onset emphysema, and then she decided to quit smoking. In her 70’s she moved out to Surrey to be closer to family. The year she turned 90 she was diagnosed with dementia. When her mental health began to decline, the family made the difficult decision to move her to Hilton Villa, which fortunately was close to them. Her final years were spent visiting with family and celebrating special occasions with them, including both of her grandsons’ weddings and the birth of her great-granddaughter in 2014. She lived a full life and was loved.

The family would like to thank all those who cared for Irean in her final years of life at Hilton Villa Care Home.