Joanna Ostrow MacDonald (October 15, 2018)
March 20, 1938 - October 15, 2018. Joanna MacDonald, née Ostrow, passed away at St. Gabriel’s Villa in Chelmsford on Monday night after a long and truly courageous struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was dearly loved by her daughters, Jenny (David) and Sally (Dave), her grandchildren Anna (Jordan) and Zoe, and by her cousins Asher (Patty) and Meher Kaur. Her many friends in Ottawa will remember her kindness and unique humour. Born in Brooklyn, Joanna grew up in New York City but always loved being outdoors, and her best childhood memories were of roaming around Central Park and going to summer camp in Vermont. Joanna was a gifted writer. She earned a B.A. in English at Queen’s College, N.Y., and then won a Stegner Writing Fellowship to attend Stanford University’s Creative Writing Program in Palo Alto, California. Joanna later moved to Scotland, which provided her with inspiration to write short stories for The New Yorker magazine, and a best-selling novel, In the Highlands Since Time Immemorial, published in 1970. Her true love was horses, and for many years she ran a boarding stable, Spiritwood Farm, near North Gower, Ontario. She was active in the Ottawa dressage world and hosted numerous horse shows at Spiritwood. Joanna was happiest walking around her farm, checking on the horses and wandering the trails through the cedars accompanied by one of her Jack Russell dogs. She was a special person, and will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations would be appreciated for the Alzheimer Society. A memorial service for Joanna will be held in Ottawa at a later date. The family would like to thank the excellent staff at St. Gabriel’s Villa for their compassion and support. Arrangements entrusted to the Jackson and Barnard Funeral Home.