Ursula Eleonore Brand

Ursula Eleonore Brand
(née Jahn)

Ursula Brand passed away peacefully at the age of 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s at her son’s home in Oakville on October 29, 2014. She was predeceased by six weeks by Klaus, her beloved husband of 73 years. Ursula leaves her two sons Dietrich (Kitt) and Jack (Birgit) as well as eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Had she been born in another time and place, she would have been a successful fashion or interior designer. Ursula always stood out from the crowd through her extraordinary sense of style. If a single detail in her ensemble or in a room of hers uneased her, she would not rest until she had made it just right. Adolescence in a small town in pre-World War II Germany did not allow her to follow her dream of fashion design. Instead, she married her soul-mate, Klaus, during the war in spite of a spine injury he sustained that threatened to kill him at a young age. She used her talents to make their lives beautiful.Miraculously, they both survived WW II and started a new life in West Germany with not a Pfennig to their names. Together they built a successful felt business. But the specter of losing everything again through a Communist invasion of Germany during the Cold War drove them to look for a safe place to live and build a company. This place was Canada, and they started to build a felt manufacturing business in Mississauga in the 1950s. Ursula’s grace and charm was the perfect complement to her husband’s vision and business acumen. Their house was always open to visitors, and their table always welcomed dinner guests with delicious foods and cakes prepared by Ursula. She was the consummate hostess and took great pains to nurture friendships in Germany and Canada. As a nature-lover, she fulfilled a dream by buying a property in the 1980s in Glenelg on the Bruce Peninsula where she lovingly renovated a farmhouse. This house became the meeting place for family and friends from around the world. When Alzheimer’s took away her ability to express herself, she battled resourcefully for several years to hide the fact. Eventually, her efforts were defeated, and she became immobilized in a wheelchair. This gave her family the opportunity to return to her the love and attention she had always lavished on them. Klaus had vowed not to have her have to attend his funeral, but it was not to be. Six weeks after his death, Ursula followed him. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 11 am at Ward Funeral Homes, 109 Reynolds St., Oakville, ON L6J 3K4, Pastor Martin Steinert officiating. In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation in honor of Ursula to the “Cure Alzheimers Fund” at www.curealz.org.