Jean-Claude and his wife, Joy, were the preceptors in my dorm at UCSC back in the early 1970's. I was the RA. Our friendship started when I babysat his daughters. Jean was under a great deal of stress at the time, finishing his doctoral dissertation on Piaget, and teaching. He still made time every day for a long run, and frequently dragged me along. That was the start of decades of jogging for me.

Jean-Claude and Joy included me in their family. There were dinner parties almost every week. Joy was a fantastic cook, and Jean enjoyed hosting brilliant conversations. All the luminaries at UCSC ended up around their table. That's where I met Rollo May, Gregory Bateson, and John Akar, former VP of Sierra Leone.

When I ended up marrying into his wife's family, Jean-Claude became my brother-in-law. We visited him many times in Montreal, and watched his beautiful daughters grow up. His career really took off once he was in Montreal, and he could flourish in an academic environment, speaking his beloved French. He doggedly held to some of his favorite mispronunciations, despite "helpful" corrections, of words like development (de-vel-UP-ment) and student (stu-dyent). He loved intellectual jokes like that, poking fun at others including himself.

I will remember Jean as brilliant, opinionated, funny, flirty, driven, stubborn, and someone who was always uniquely himself. My heart goes out to his daughters in their time of grief.

Mr. Brief was a handsome, elegant, flirty, and charismatic man even at the stage that when I met him. Whenever I saw Mr. Brief, he would light up at the mere mention of his daughter's name Dominque . 

Dominque, you and your father were an amazing team. It always seemed as if it were you and he against the world. Because of this, he will always be with you. He will continue to be your source of strength, resilience and need to fight for justice. It is in large part that because of this, I know your father is now resting in peace.

With all my love,
Patty 

We were so very saddened and shocked to hear of Jean-Claude Brief's sudden death.  We had not met him personally but did know his daughter Dominique and we know her to be a very caring, kind, considerate woman who did all that she could do to make her dad's last days on earth as comfortable as possible.  In daughter Dominique, Jean-Claude's memory lives on and in Dominique he leaves behind a wonderful legacy.  The world is a sadder place because of his loss.  Our deepest sympathies to you and you are in our thoughts and prayers always.

I am old enough to remember all the excitement in our family when Jean-Claude Brief married my Aunty Joy in Jamaica. My brother Jan and I were very small then, but we thought it was the greatest fun and hoped they would throw a big party like that every year. The whole family was happy, again, when they would come to visit in later years. And that's what I remember of your mom and dad, a great romance, and your Dad's French accent, which I always loved the sound of.

He came from a world apart from Jamaica and yet he made himself so at home amongst us in that strange place. He was affectionate and funny and playful and also, not like anyone we'd ever met before. 

I remember being with him and Aunty Joy at a copy shop in California when they were making the photocopies of his doctoral dissertation. This was on one of our visits to California, maybe the second one, when I was 13. 

I knew he was an intellectual, a person of culture. But it took me all the way to grad school myself before I appreciated how  original his mind and character were. I was in grad school, too, when I learned about his childhood during the Second World War, how deprived and traumatic it had been, how he had seen frightening things. When I understood something of these hard beginnings, I got some insight into his character, which wasn't always easy. But this was all the more reason for me to appreciate even more his conscious commitment to justice, to intellectual honesty, to seeing the world as it was and, as appalling as that knowledge can be, being still more committed to ethical behavior for the sake of human dignity, and for the sake of making the world better. This was how I understood his life, the things he was serious about. He could have come out of those experiences a mean, fearful, sordid person but he was never mean; he had an extraordinary mind, but even more he had natural nobility in his heart. I am grateful for his example, grateful to have known his kindness, humor, and courage, and I will miss the sound of his voice in the world. 

Much love, and peace and comfort to you.

Thanksgiving day has past but this period of recognition of good things, good people, good events was made more acute with the passing away of Jean Claude. We have been lucky to meet Joy, Jean Claude, Dominique and Michelle 45 years ago. From the relationship of adviser (Jean Claude) to Student (Mary) and Student to fellow Frenchman (Jean) through time and multiple encounters our friendship grew into what we consider as a family kinship. Both Joy and Jean Claude showed us the importance of sharing, be it a meal, a gathering of friends and family members or academic guest, we were always invited to participate in these frequent events at UCSC and in Canada.
Jean Claude never failed to bring humor and good words during these gathering and other encounters. During our running sessions with Christopher McCan around the East field he would mix some philosophy of science explanation with humoristic remarks, In Canada our relationship went on even though we would be absent for long period of time . The welcome warmth was always present. and we again felt at home at "rue Hikson". Jean Claude and I (Jean) would drive to rue St. Laurent and get some special bread that we shared once at his home with all present. I joined  him and Mstislaw  for runs at a stadium along the St. Laurent river. On the academic side, he was never shy about his aim at quality teaching. When back from Mali, we all went to "La Cabane a Sucre" to spend a whole evening. This is when he saw Nokolai and called him "le petit Nikolai". That name stayed with him until he saw a sixfoot-four young man three years ago and after looking at Nikolai for a while said "I cannot call you "le petit Nikolai" anymore. Jean Claude, you have played such an important part in our life. Thank you for being there for us. Memory eternal to you.  Jean, Mary, Nikolai and Sophia.

Jean-Claude was a preceptor at Cowell College in the University of California, Santa Cruz, when I was a student there in the early 1970s. I think that meant he was a teacher living on campus to keep a benevolent eye on the students living in the dormitories. For me and other Cowell students, Jean-Claude and his beautiful young family offered a kind of security blanket. We could visit them and find a warm, homelike refuge when we were feeling stressed or confused. As time passed and our confidence increased, we would stop by to enjoy the lively conversation and international perspectives we always found there. Jean-Claude was playful and Joy was serene, but they would turn serious and caring when advice or sympathy was called for. (I remember few specifics, but for some reason I remember them looking at each other and shaking their heads with real sorrow when I revealed that I didn’t know who Paul Robeson was.) Today, colleges offer therapy animals for students to play with during exam times. We had Joy & Jean-Claude’s children. This is how the Briefs seemed to me as a young undergraduate, and it has been a precious memory. Through the years, I sent holiday cards, and Jean-Claude always responded with generous letters describing his family and all their doings with love and pride. I grieve at his passing.
With love and gratitude,
Moira Lerner Nelson


If a butterfly's wings can change the course of weather, surely this Jean-Claude Brief's good work can help our world. May his good endure also in his work, family, friends, and those who know or have been affected by him.
. 

My heart and warmest wishes go out to all who knew Jean-Claude, especially his family.  I met Jean-Claude and Joy in Santa Cruz where he was both Professor and Preceptor.  I loved spending so much time at their place; Joy was an amazing cook and Jean-Claude ate with so much relish it made you hungry to watch him.
While we were eating there were drop ins; faculty, grad students, friends; it all added to the celebratory mood of the evening.
His daughters were lovely sprites, going from person to person with squeals of laughter under his admiring eye. Jean-Claude was teased by everyone about his accent, his Philosophical interests, the commodities he purchased...he enjoyed it all and gave back in kind.
Twice I was able to spend a day with him during visits to Quebec; these were so enjoyable, joining friends in the Country for dinner and Jean-Claude acting as tour guide pointing out the sights in Montreal".....and zat is zee river..."
Thank you, Jean-Claude, for countless good memories.


I was friends with Jean-Claude for many decades. I met him and Joy (his wife) at Stanford in California in 1965 when Joy was pregnant with Dominique. Jean-Claude was a good long distance runner and convinced me to run with him. I was a decent very short distance sprinter and never managed to follow him for more than a mile! But I always competed successfully with him when it came to the speed and quantity of food I could eat. It always took him a long time to wait for his food to be cool enough and to remove every milligram of fat. 

Joy helped me find an apartment in Mountain View and fed me daily while Jean and I had interminable discussions. Jean-Claude informed me of a teaching position available at UCSC, while I was working on my dissertation in Paris. 

Joy and Jean-Claude rescued me after my life completely fell apart and made it possible for my daughter, Sarah, and then myself to come to Montreal. There, I remember proof reading Jean-Claude's book without understand at all what it was about!

And then Joy took Sarah and I to California, where I found a job at Stanford and then a teaching position in Texas.  My life would most likely have been a total disaster without Joy and Jean-Claude’s help. 

With the passing of Jean-Claude, it is a huge portion of my life that is now receding in the past. 

Again, Joy and Jean-Claude were two of the most important persons in my life. 

Jean-Pierre 


I knew the young Jean-Claude. We were all young when we met in Jamaica, W.I. where he and Carol-Joy (my sister-in-law) were about to have a splendid church wedding in Kingston. When I say we, I mean Jean-Claude and the family he was marrying into, Carol-Joy’s brothers, their wives (of whom I was one) and the friends and distant relatives who were there to attend the wedding.

Jean-Claude took it all in his stride, whatever cultural differences there might have been, and I dare say there were some between his European background and the excitable modes and manners of his soon-to-be relatives. He remained calm and unflustered by it all, laughed with us, went along with all our various activities and fitted as if he had known us all his life.

As happens in life, however, our ways parted and I only saw him a few times in the intervening years. News filtered through, our lives changed course in unexpected ways, but last year when he was already suffering from dementia Dominique arranged for me to speak to him on the phone. That was a pleasure, as his memory of the past was fresh in his mind and we chatted and laughed about those Jamaican days as if they had taken place yesterday.

Rest in peace, Jean-Claude, and may all your future lives be happy.

Dawn


J’offre à tous les membres de sa famille ainsi que ses proches, mes condoléances les plus sincères.
J’ai connu Jean-Claude peu de temps après  son entrée à l’UQAM. Rapidement, nous avons engagé des discussions passionnantes. Nous n’étions pas toujours d’accord. Toutefois, il savait écouter, tenter de comprendre les opinions ou les interprétations de l’autre. Je ne réussissais pas toujours à le convaincre  et inversement .Et, c’était bien ainsi. Chacun alimentait la réflexion de l’autre.
Par son implication  dans la vie universitaire, Jean-Claude a contribué à faire de l’UQAM une université respectée tout en se situant à la marge des modèles traditionnels.
Michel Allard, professeur retraité de l’UQAM



Ma gratitude pour tes möt, ils  ont auvert  des fentres  et de portes dans ma carrieres et dans ma vie.tu m'accompagné tu ,m'accompagne  et Tu m'accomparais. mon ami, Dominique ta fille elle est  a ton image, généreuse admirable, 

Jean-Claude 
               Que de choses à dire! Que de bons repas et de souvenirs partagés!...
     Nos deux familles sont liées par  une amitié fidèle, sincère et profonde qui vous entreteniez, Toi et Mimi, à laquelle Joy a largement contribuée et qui perdure maintenant à travers nos enfants. 
Toutes nos condoléances à Dominique, Michou, tes neveux et tes petits enfants. nos pensées seront avec vous le 4.
 Mémoire Eternelle  
Katia et ses enfants


Après une vie bien remplie et riche intellectuellement et familialement, le professeur Jean-Claude Brief s’est éteint. Nous gardons de lui le souvenir d’un homme droit et sincère qui ne craignait pas de soutenir ses opinions tout en gardant son sens de l’humour. À toute sa famille, nous offrons nos plus profondes condoléances et nous excusons de ne pouvoir participer à la cérémonie.

Claudine Nézet et Serge P. Séguin


Mon cher Jean-Claude,

Tu fais partie de notre histoire familiale et de cœur.

Nous aurons toujours une pensée pour toi.

Tendrement,

Dominique, Hugues, Boris, Léonard et Claire



Adieu Jean-Claude, 

comme on dit dans le midi ! Penser à toi, c’est revenir à notre première rencontre à Montréal, début août 1974. Vous aviez traversé les US dans ta Mercédès sur une route parallèle à la 55 et c’est chez Waldman’s, rue Roy que nous avons échangé nos premiers mots ! Tu avais sous le bras ton livre fraîchement édité, « Beyond Piaget » qui te préoccupait davantage  que les saumons que Joy choisissait pour le dîner. J’ai donc connu le Professeur avant l’Homme. Je te raconte cela car depuis, je ne t’ai jamais vu au Lafontaine sans des documents sous les bras que tu allais ou venais d’annoter. Tu impressionnais par tes capacités d’analyse et par ta rigueur intellectuelle même si parfois tu prêchais dans le désert ! Tu as marqué des générations d’étudiant-e-s aux trois cycles par la qualité de ta réflexion et les liens que tu faisais entre les différents auteurs et leurs théories. J’ai eu aussi la chance de te connaître, toi, au fil des années, avec tes forces et tes doutes, et d’apprécier tes qualités humaines et morales.

Je reviens au début avec cette formule à conjurer le sort et qui nous permettait d’attendre la prochaine rencontre,

Adieu Jean-Claude.

Robert


À la famille et aux amis de Monsieur Brief,

Au nom des membres de la Faculté des sciences de l'éducation de l'UQAM, je souhaite exprimer notre profonde tristesse.  Pour tous ceux et celles qui l'ont côtoyé à l'université, le professeur Brief laisse un souvenir impérissable.

Nos plus sincères condoléances,
Monique Brodeur
Doyenne

Dear Michelle and Dominique,

I'm so sorry for the loss of your Dad. I remember both him and your Mum so well and the lovely years we all had growing up on Hickson. Even after so many years I remember how kind and gentle your mother was, how quirky and funny your Dad could be. I've no doubt your parents felt immense pride in and love for each of you. Equally, I saw how much each of you cared for and loved them. The best way to honour the parents we love so much (at least in my own experience) is through kindness and through striving to live life as the best people we can be. Without a doubt, a life filled with contentment, good health and peace of mind is what your parents would want for you. I send you thoughts of comfort, Michou and Dom and warm thoughts to your Dad and Mum.

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Jean-Claude Brief

1 août 1936 – 4 novembre 2016

Centre funéraire Côte-des-Neiges

Montrez votre soutien

Envoyez Vos
Condoléances

Partager
L'avis De Décès

Obtenir les mises à jour

Prestations de Service