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Isa Graham
August 10, 2016
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<div itemprop="description">With profound sadness we announce the passing of our mother Isa Graham, in Halifax on August 10, 2016. <br> <br>A proud, stoic and fearlessly independent woman, Isa grew tired of living by her lifelong belief that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Faced with deteriorating health, old age and the loss of her independence in her beloved home of Toronto, she chose instead to fade away. <br> <br>Isa was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina on December 15, 1926 to Anglo Irish parents Harry and Blanche Gubbins. <br> <br>As a young bride and mother of 2 children, she moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to start a new life. There she went on to have two more children, and begin her first career at the Canadian Embassy. Embassy life in the 60's were filled with cocktail parties, weekends at country clubs and diplomatic events. While her social life was exciting, she found it constraining to live in a male centric country with few opportunities for women. The many lifelong friends and connections she made at the embassy would help and influence her decision to re-locate as a single parent with her two youngest children to Toronto, Canada in 1969. <br> <br>A tough move for a solo woman with two young children. Rather than deter her, she hit her stride and thrived. <br> <br>Almost immediately she found work at Acres International a consulting engineering firm, where she remained, but for a short stint with the Ontario government, until her retirement. <br> <br>Though Isa had no formal higher education, her tenacity, work ethic and intelligence allowed her to rise through the ranks to become an international marketing consultant for Acres. <br> <br>Isa loved to read and learn and always strived to stay current. She embraced computers, the Internet and the changes it brought to all aspects of our daily lives. Her favorite publications were The Economist, The National Post and any good Swedish mystery novel. <br> <br>Isa was a global thinker long before they coined the term. <br> <br>Though she was trilingual, discourse was not her thing unless both parties were in agreement. If your opinion differed, you’d be wise to have your research notes ready or you’d get a glimpse of her sharp tongue as well as her sharp mind. <br> <br>Her life post retirement consisted of family visits, and her circle of neighbors who met regularly for a cocktail hour chat. They were mostly 30 years younger than her, but this didn’t seem to bother anyone. <br> <br>She didn’t travel as much as she’d have liked but she did her fair share visiting places in Canada, South America, Europe, the US and the Caribbean. Where she didn’t go, she’d learn about and would find herself telling people what they should see and do. <br> <br>She was a fabulous cook and gardener. <br> <br> <br> <br>Isa is survived by three of her four children, Michael (Olga), Sharon (Tito) and Serena (Peter) and 8 grandchildren (who are all special people) Jessica, Charles, Ricardo, Bianca, Nicolas, Sandro, Bernard and Cristina. Sadly her daughter Sandra pre-deceased her in 2010. <br> <br> <br> <br>Thank you mum for teaching your children to be strong and independent and for encouraging us to be citizens of the world. <br> <br>Easy we are not, but the values you taught us have served us well and have been passed down to our children. <br> <br>You will always be a part of us. <br> <br> <br> <br>Cremation has taken place. A gathering to celebrate Isa’s life will be held at Serena and Peter’s home on Sunday August 14 from 4-6pm. All friends are welcome. <br> <br> <br> <br>If you wish to make a donation in memory of Isa, there were many charities close to her heart. Please consider donating to: the Sunny Brook Foundation, The Salvation Army, The Toronto Humane Society, Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation, or the Canadian Cancer Society.</div>