DIANA JANE YOUNG

(1959 – 2025) Professor, musician, painter, storyteller. Diana Young of Toronto and Ottawa, age 66, died as a result of cancer, peacefully, amongst loving friends and family, at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, on November 18, 2025. Diana was born in Toronto to the late Verda and Michael Young. From an early age, she showed a love of art, nature and creativity. All became lifelong passions. After a youth that included stints at Katimavik, art school and a job making "ugly furniture," she went on to study film at Concordia University in Montreal. She attended law school at McGill and completed her PhD in law at the University of Toronto. Along the way, she became an accomplished guitar player and painter. Diana was Associate Professor of Law and Legal Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. Her scholarship encompassed criminal law, as well as law and literature. She brought her deep knowledge of cinema into her work on law and film, including presenting on Law and American Westerns. She enjoyed being close to nature in Ottawa. She loved skating on the canal and epic bike rides. Diana was politically engaged and an advocate for social justice. She could never resist a political debate, including with strangers. She was unfailingly generous with others and loved warm companionship with close friends, preferably accompanied by good cheese. She chose to die peacefully through Medical Assistance in Dying, a subject she published scholarly work on. She is survived by her partner, Cathi Bond; siblings, Nora (Rosanna Nardi), Bryan Levy-Young and his daughter, Ella, Cameron (Margaret Shaw) and their children, Eva Shaw-Young, Jordan Shaw-Young. Friends and family are heartbroken, but buoyed by many happy memories of her gentle, creative and loving spirit. Celebration of Life to follow.