The Honourable Donna Carson Read
February 13, 1946, Edmonton, Alberta - May 15, 2024, Vancouver, British Columbia
The family of Donna Carson Read is heartbroken to announce her sudden passing from unexpected complications following elective heart surgery. Donna is loved and remembered by her large family and extensive circle of friends.
She will be forever missed by her daughters Johanna Read (Paul Koros) and Megan Read (Simon Ouellette); grandsons Amri and Piers Ouellette; siblings Terry Carson (Rillah), Sharon Cowie (Mike), Helen Yates (Anthony), and James Carson; her “sister by choice” Juliana Topolniski (Neil March); and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Also left to mourn are Jennifer Caron (Harvey), Laurence Abbott (Brenda), and Hannah Abbott, the children and granddaughter of her late husband Daniel Abbott; and Daryl Read, son of former husband James Read who predeceased her. Donna was also predeceased by her parents George Donaldson and Lois Evelyn Carson (née Wise), brother Chuck Carson, and sister Kathleen Burden.
Always an excellent student, Donna earned three degrees from the University of Alberta. She completed her BA Honours in history in 1967, after which she became a social worker. She then received a BEd in 1971 and joined Paul Kane High School in St. Albert as an English and fine arts teacher and department head. Then, as a mother of two young girls, Donna pursued studies in law and graduated as a top student on the Dean’s List with an LLB in 1983. As a single mother, she articled at both the Alberta Law Courts and at the firm of Emery Jamieson, where she practiced law as an associate then partner.
Donna was appointed as a justice of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (now King’s Bench) on April 18, 2002. A thoughtful and meticulous judge, Donna was held in high regard by her judicial colleagues, members of the Bar, and the public that she faithfully served until her retirement from the Court in the fall of 2018. She was instrumental in steering the Court’s Family Law Committee and shaping the practice of family law in the province. Mentoring, supporting, and learning from others were always important to her as both a lawyer and a judge.
Donna’s very full life included much travel and adventure, an incredible career, lifelong learning, and many acts of service; throughout she maintained her loving focus on family, who she said were like sunshine.
Donna was remarkable in her ability to connect with people. She enjoyed conversation on all subjects, had an incredible love of learning, her optimism and problem-solving abilities were admired by many, and her excellent sense of the absurd made for much lightness of being. Donna showed steadfast support of many charities, people in need, the arts, and postsecondary institutions, and tirelessly championed the vital importance of a healthy democracy in Canada.
Along with her family, she leaves behind a host of friends, colleagues, neighbours, and travelling companions in Edmonton, Vancouver, Nelson, across Canada, and around the world. Those of us who were lucky enough to be in her light are all the better for it.
We will celebrate her life on June 22, 2024, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Art Gallery of Alberta in Edmonton.
Kindly confirm details and attendance via DonnaReadRSVP@gmail.com by June 13.
Donations are welcomed to organizations that protect democracy and human rights.
First Fig
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!
-Edna St. Vincent Millay
Time is a river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this, too, will be swept away.
-Marcus Aurelius Antoninus