UNNUR ANNA KRISTJANSSON BROWN

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UNNUR ANNA KRISTJANSSON BROWN John's Princess died on December 2, 2009. She was the youngest daughter of Fridrik and Holmfridur Kristjansson who left subsistence farming and indentured servitude in Iceland to build a family in Canada. They would be proud today. Unnur was always top of her class. She was the Senior Stick (Class President) and winner of the book prize for outstanding student for her Diploma in Nursing at the University of Manitoba (1959), top student in Nursing at McGill University (1961), and the Outstanding Graduate for her Master's at the University of Washington (1963). She was always sought after for tough jobs, even when it was known that her strong principles might get in the way. Eager for any challenge, she united her professional career around the importance of caring for people at their most vulnerable. Although her work decades ago for the Canadian government foresaw today's focus on patient-centred care and the human, ministering components of health care, she was also always the Mom that kids would ask the difficult questions. She did everything with style. At 14, she worked at a soda fountain until her father found out, she bought jewelry for Freeman's, she taught her son to cook without ever using a recipe, and she could play bridge with the best. She went back to school in her 40s to learn about politics (University of Western Ontario) and served on committees pursuing social goals that seem welcome now but were radical then; covering topics from health services restructuring to the status of women. She lost her father, her brother, and one sister to cancer. She supported her husband in his bout with cancer and carried her son through the same disease. So it is particularly sad that she finally succumbed to her fourth fight with cancer at the age of 72. She is survived by her loving husband John, her son Adalsteinn (Steini), her daughter-in-law Erica, her grandchildren Njala and Brandur, and her sisters Asa and Bertha. At Unnur's request, there will be no visitation and no services. For those who wish, she asked that donations be made to the research funds of the physicians who helped her fight cancer: Dr. Mark Carey (University of British Columbia Health Sciences Centre); Dr. Ian Chin Yee (London Health Sciences Centre); and Drs. Les Levin and Amit Oza (both at Princess Margaret Hospital).

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 04, 2009