Obituary of Claudia Joan Mann

Claudia Joan Mann, 59, died peacefully on May 24, 2024, at the QE II
Halifax Infirmary following a 2 year struggle with cancer.

Claudia is profoundly missed by her common law partner Geoff
Richardson, her sister Stefani Cooper, brother Greg Mann and sister-in-law
Jacquie Mann, brother Alan Mann and sister-in-law Peggy Mann, nieces
Sarah Brown, Melissa Gilbert, Jessica Cooper, Cooper Corvus and their
partners, nephews Jamie Mann and Jeremy Mann and their partners,
sister-in-law Kathleen Richardson, brother-in-law Chris Richardson and
sister-in-law Lisa Richardson, nephew-in-law Chris Richardson and niece-
in-law Jenny Richardson, a wide circle of extended family and friends, and
her beloved Husky, Nina.

Claudia was born and grew up in Bracebridge Ontario. She spent carefree
summers at the family cottage on Skeleton Lake. Figure skating was her
earliest passion and as young teenager she was accredited as an amateur
coach. After graduating from the University of Toronto in 1990, Claudia
spent the next 7 years working for nonprofit organizations such as Street
Haven that supported women in downtown Toronto experiencing
homelessness, poverty, mental illness, substance abuse, violence and
isolation.

Claudia returned to Bracebridge in 1997 as Co-Director of Muskoka Victim
Services launching and managing a new Victim Crisis Assistance and
Referral Service. She returned to Toronto in 2000 as Manager of the Fred
Victor Centre’s Housing Access program.

Moving with Geoff to Labrador in 2004, Claudia worked for the provincial
Department of Justice providing direct services to victims of crime and

coordinating culturally appropriate services in Indigenous communities. She
savoured the splendour and people of the “Big Land” and reveled in the
camaraderie and pleasure of contributing to both the Labrador Creative
Arts Festival and the Mokami Players.

In 2008, Claudia moved to Halifax to begin a 16 year career with the Nova
Scotia Department of Justice. Her initial responsibilities as Regional
Supervisor included ensuring that victims of crime involved in the criminal
justice system received effective support and information. One of her
proudest accomplishments was her leadership in developing Nova Scotia’s
first Domestic Violence Court Program which launched in 2012. Following
several years as Court Administrator for the Supreme Court (Family
Division), Claudia joined senior management with her appointment as
Director of the Court Services Division in 2015.

Claudia was a fierce advocate for social justice. From her early days
supporting women on the streets of downtown Toronto to her role as a
senior manager with the provincial government, she remained focused on
responding to the needs of marginalized people, ensuring that everyone is
afforded equal rights and opportunities, promoting gender equality and
preventing domestic violence.

Claudia was driven by an overpowering sense of gratitude. She was very
aware of her good fortune and privilege and kept a separate diary to daily
record 3 things she was grateful for. She was particularly thankful for the
love and friendship of family, friends, and colleagues especially during her
struggle with cancer. From this intrinsic gratitude sprang a compassion for
others, selflessness, boundless patience, and a constant appreciation of
the joy, wonder and beauty that surrounded her. She drew on her
leadership skills to both inspire others to reach their full human potential
and to spur meaningful collaborative action to oppose all forms of injustice.

Claudia was courageous and thrived on challenges and adventure. During
high school, she spent a year in South Africa on a student exchange. She
was an accomplished canoeist, starting with annual trips to Massasauga
Provincial Park with her best friend Cindy Drew and subsequent excursions
on the French River and Kejimkujik National Park. She toured Western
France and Ireland by bicycle. She courageously agreed to forego the
security of a job promotion in Toronto for the adventure of moving to
Labrador with the attendant uncertainty of finding work there.

A voracious reader, Claudia was intensely curious and would become
thoroughly engrossed in a variety of topics, maniacally tracking down and
devouring all the written and video information she could: ascents of Mount
Everest, the Bog People, the Grenfell Mission, and the wrongfully
convicted. But her greatest fascination always was with women’s stories:
biographies of women artists and historical figures, accounts of women
resisting adversity and repression (e.g. Nazi occupation, Taliban), and
diaries by women bravely exploring and travelling through remote and
inhospitable places.

Celebrations of Claudia’s life will be held in Halifax on Thursday October 3,
2024, and in Toronto on Saturday November 2, 2024.