Obituary of Kathleen Rhoda Brown

Kathleen Rhoda Newton 1934 - 2015 Kathleen Rhoda Newton was born on November 16, 1934 in Cheddleton, Staffordshire, England. Her mother was alone for the birth and Kathleen was born prematurely, weighing only about three pounds. When the midwife arrived, she declared that Kathleen wouldn’t survive the night. My grandmother was stubborn. She wrapped the baby up and put her in a shoe box in front of the cast iron stove in the corner. Kathleen survived the night, and for another eighty years. Kathleen had the kind of rural childhood we yearn for today. Her mother sent her off in the morning with a sandwich and instructions not to come home until supper time, and Kathleen spent the day with the sheep, rabbits, insects and plants of the Staffordshire moors. In early summer mornings her father would wake her up to go search for mushrooms, which they fried up with bacon and tomatoes for breakfast. Kathleen’s sister Delphine was born in 1940, and after that Kathleen was in charge of the lively, volatile little girl. If Delphine played in the mud and got her clean clothes dirty --- and she often did --- Kathleen was the one who got into trouble. But Kathleen didn’t resent her little sister; she loved her charm and wit, her flashing eyes and dark curls. Kathleen was bright: she taught herself to read at four, and earned a scholarship to the local advanced secondary school at age nine. In a different time or with more opportunities she might have been a doctor or a scientist, but she didn’t have many choices. She passed her nursing certification exams at nineteen, and worked as a nurse for over twenty years. In 1963, Kathleen married Kailash Nath Sharma, a doctor. Their marriage was one of friendship and laughter, but it didn’t last long and they had no children. In the late sixties and early seventies, Kathleen worked on what was to be one of her proudest accomplishments: together with Derek Brown and others she helped found the Douglas MacMillan Home, a hospice for cancer patients in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. In June 1973, a few months after the hospice opened, Kathleen married Derek. They had hoped to received positions at the new hospice, but for political reasons were overlooked, so they boarded a ship Canada to start a new life together. After driving from Montreal to Regina they settled in Lumsden, Saskatchewan and added two Samoyed dogs, Silver and Crystal, to their new family. My brother David was born soon after, in January 1974. I followed in August 1975, and their family was complete. Not long after that, Kathleen and Derek decided that prospects might be brighter elsewhere. After a brief return to England the family moved to South Africa, where Kathleen was able to work for a few more years. The move to South Africa was the first of many --- at least ten --- for Kathleen and Derek. Johannesburg to Durban to Roodepoort in South Africa; then back to Lumsden, Saskatchewan; then to England; back to Saskatchewan (this time Prince Albert); up to Candle Lake, then Big River; out to Miramichi, New Brunswick, and finally back to Big River. Most of the moves were Derek’s choice; Kathleen tended to insist on the moves back to Canada, and most importantly back to Big River. They only really stopped moving when Derek got too sick to decide. In the midst of all those moves, David and Amy grew up and moved away themselves, first to the University of Waterloo and finally to Tokyo (for David) and Toronto (for Amy). Kathleen never worked as a nurse after the family left South Africa, or at all apart from a brief, happy stint as a librarian in Lumsden. Instead she filled her time with books and knitting and looking after the succession of cats and dogs which always had an important place in her home. Although she wasn’t inclined to community service outside the home, she took a keen interest in politics and current events, and kept herself up-to-date by listening to CBC radio and watching the TV news. She made regular contributions to Unicef, and every year she knit a tiny sweater to donate to the town’s Christmas boxes for the less-fortunate. Derek passed away in 2008 after surviving for several difficult years with dementia. Kathleen spent her last seven years alone in her house in Big River with her cats and her knitting. They were good years --- she finally got to do as she pleased, watch what she wanted on TV, go to bed when she wanted to. She was supported in her independence by her neighbour Robert Moyer, who took out her trash, mowed her lawn, shoveled her snow, and even took her shopping once on a very icy day. Kathleen’s other guardian angel was her good friend Shirley Miller. Kathleen and Shirley went to Prince Albert together for medical appointments, and went on other adventures around Prince Albert and Shellbrook, bringing laughter and naughty jokes with them wherever they went. Kathleen got sick in April 2015. In her last months, she was visited and cared for by her family: David, Amy, and Amy’s children. She died at eighty of cancer on July 31, 2015, in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Kathleen was predeceased by her mother Kathleen Newton (neé Millington), her father Arthur Newton, her sister Delphine, and her husband Derek. She is survived by her children David and Amy, her grandchildren Delphine and Cordelia, her niece Meada Matthews and great-niece and -nephew Demilla and Marcus. A Memorial gathering will be held between 3:00pm- 6:00pm on Thursday August 13, 2015 at the Big River Legion Hall. Family and friends wishing to send private online condolences are welcome to visit www.beaulacfuneralhome.com Family has entrusted arrangements to Beau "Lac" Funeral Home , Marianne Turcotte -Director