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BORN
04/20/1938
DIED
01/08/2026
Brigitte Freybe Obituary
Brigitte Freybe - cherished wife and life partner to Henning, sister to Bärbel (dec. 2025) and Margarete (dec.1993), mother to Anouchka (Scott) and Sven (Juliette),?moma?to Saskia, Maurits, Dries,?Julian?and Maia?-?passed?away?peacefully on?January 8th ?at North Shore Hospice.??
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Brigitte was born?in?Schwäbisch?Hall, Germany - the first of three daughters to Margarete and Friederich Heller.?While her dream was to become a theater stage designer, her father insisted she?first?train to become?a seamstress, which she did for two years.?By?1958?she switched disciplines to graphic design,?at?the Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. A year later, she continued her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, where she finished her degree in?1965.??
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On April?1,?1966?Brigitte joined a student-organized trip to Moscow. While changing trains in West Berlin, she spotted "the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen" walking towards her on the platform. "I immediately thought he was a prince".?They boarded the train and the group?of 20?connected?on the long train ride,?and by the time they reached Moscow, Brigitte and Henning were intertwined, winding?up in a love affair that would span sixty years.?
?
They?married in?September 1967, and?then?relocated?to Montréal?in 1968. Brigitte worked at Radio Canada, in television programming as a graphic designer for the long-running children's series Chez Hélène. She created?storyboards?and decorative backdrops, collage?work and?ink and brush paintings. In 1970 they returned to Vancouver and started family life. Brigitte became a docent at the Vancouver Art Gallery, campaigned for its relocation to the courthouse, and found kinship with gallery administrators and cultural leaders.??
By the late 1970s, she and a group of friends founded the Contemporary Arts Society of Vancouver. At the same time,?she and Henning had started?collecting art?- a gradual process that extended over decades-long friendships with gallerists, curators, artists and collectors in Canada and Germany, France,?USA?and Italy. After leaving the CASV, Brigitte served on the Board of Trustees at the VAG, and on the Acquisitions Committee for Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada.??
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In?2015,?they launched Griffin Art Projects, a gallery space focused on exhibiting?art from?private collections?for the public.?In?2025, Brigitte and Henning announced the?donation of?a large portion?of their collection to the?VAG?- celebrated in the exhibition "Postcards from the Heart".?On that opening night, she radiated with the sheer?joy?and?gratitude?of?being amongst friends,?families,?artists,?and?curators?and being able to give back to a community that gave her so much.???
?
Her other significant?art-love was opera, specifically those composed by Richard Wagner. The Ring Cycle was among her favourites, which she attended at least 20 times?in cities throughout North America and Europe.??
Her biggest loves, however, were her five creative grandchildren. Self-designated as 'moma', she nurtured the closeness she had with?each, and expressed her love and joy at every family gathering through tableaus of food and seasonal traditions. She was a feisty game-player, willing to hop on a rollercoaster, play cards, or go on family field trips. In 2017, she and Henning invited the family on a Baltic Sea cruise to celebrate 50 years of marriage, the first time they had returned to Russia since 1966.
?
We are?grateful for the wonderful care from the team of nurses and doctors at Lions Gate Hospital, as well as the palliative team at North Shore Hospice.?The loving gestures shown by friends and family, who rallied her spirits, held her hand,?and shared heartfelt stories, will always be remembered.??
?
A Celebration of Life is being planned for late April.
?
Brigitte was born?in?Schwäbisch?Hall, Germany - the first of three daughters to Margarete and Friederich Heller.?While her dream was to become a theater stage designer, her father insisted she?first?train to become?a seamstress, which she did for two years.?By?1958?she switched disciplines to graphic design,?at?the Academy of Art and Design in Basel, Switzerland. A year later, she continued her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, where she finished her degree in?1965.??
?
On April?1,?1966?Brigitte joined a student-organized trip to Moscow. While changing trains in West Berlin, she spotted "the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen" walking towards her on the platform. "I immediately thought he was a prince".?They boarded the train and the group?of 20?connected?on the long train ride,?and by the time they reached Moscow, Brigitte and Henning were intertwined, winding?up in a love affair that would span sixty years.?
?
They?married in?September 1967, and?then?relocated?to Montréal?in 1968. Brigitte worked at Radio Canada, in television programming as a graphic designer for the long-running children's series Chez Hélène. She created?storyboards?and decorative backdrops, collage?work and?ink and brush paintings. In 1970 they returned to Vancouver and started family life. Brigitte became a docent at the Vancouver Art Gallery, campaigned for its relocation to the courthouse, and found kinship with gallery administrators and cultural leaders.??
By the late 1970s, she and a group of friends founded the Contemporary Arts Society of Vancouver. At the same time,?she and Henning had started?collecting art?- a gradual process that extended over decades-long friendships with gallerists, curators, artists and collectors in Canada and Germany, France,?USA?and Italy. After leaving the CASV, Brigitte served on the Board of Trustees at the VAG, and on the Acquisitions Committee for Contemporary Art at the National Gallery of Canada.??
?
In?2015,?they launched Griffin Art Projects, a gallery space focused on exhibiting?art from?private collections?for the public.?In?2025, Brigitte and Henning announced the?donation of?a large portion?of their collection to the?VAG?- celebrated in the exhibition "Postcards from the Heart".?On that opening night, she radiated with the sheer?joy?and?gratitude?of?being amongst friends,?families,?artists,?and?curators?and being able to give back to a community that gave her so much.???
?
Her other significant?art-love was opera, specifically those composed by Richard Wagner. The Ring Cycle was among her favourites, which she attended at least 20 times?in cities throughout North America and Europe.??
Her biggest loves, however, were her five creative grandchildren. Self-designated as 'moma', she nurtured the closeness she had with?each, and expressed her love and joy at every family gathering through tableaus of food and seasonal traditions. She was a feisty game-player, willing to hop on a rollercoaster, play cards, or go on family field trips. In 2017, she and Henning invited the family on a Baltic Sea cruise to celebrate 50 years of marriage, the first time they had returned to Russia since 1966.
?
We are?grateful for the wonderful care from the team of nurses and doctors at Lions Gate Hospital, as well as the palliative team at North Shore Hospice.?The loving gestures shown by friends and family, who rallied her spirits, held her hand,?and shared heartfelt stories, will always be remembered.??
?
A Celebration of Life is being planned for late April.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Published by North Shore News from Mar. 18 to Apr. 17, 2026.
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