Diana Brand, faithful friend and supporter
Edith “Diana” Brand was a good friend and generous supporter of Canadian Jesuits International for many years. She was in her nineties and passed away peacefully in her sleep on 1 February 2017. Her funeral Mass was held at St Luke’s Catholic Church in Thornhill, Ontario, and she was buried in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery.
Diana Brand
Diana’s work with children and her Christian devotion and example will be sorely missed, especially by the many people she touched including her family which extended to great-great-grandchildren. Even after her death, Diana’s support for CJI has continued through donations made in her memory.
CJI director Jenny Cafiso shared the following memories shortly after Diana’s passing:
I have just been informed that Diana Brand died last night. She has been a longtime friend and supporter of the Jesuits and of CJI. In my many phone calls and visits with her, she told me many stories of her relationship with the Jesuits and with Darjeeling and Nepal. She told me stories of how she and her son organized the shipping of the first violins for the creation of Gandhi Ashram school, and remained a faithful supporter to the end. She loved Gandhi Ashram. She visited Darjeeling and had a strong commitment to the work of the Jesuits there, as well as in Nepal and other places. She had a deep relationship with Bishop Sharma and was saddened by his death.
My relationship with Diana started long before my time at CJI. When I was a young adult, she and I were involved with Youth Corps, a program of the Archdiocese of Toronto. We were on kitchen duty for the Family Peace weekends, and I learned a lot from her over the many hours spent peeling carrots and potatoes! Her energy and passion were contagious.
We will miss her calls here at the CJI office…
CJI offers condolences to Diana’s family and to all who loved her. May she rest in peace.
