Brenda Ives Remembered As Advocate For Students and Schools

Windsor Locks is mourning the death of  Board of Education member Brenda Ives.

Ives, 68, died unexpectedly Wednesday at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford with her family at her side. She had been a member of  board of education for about 10 years.

She is survived by her husband, Jeffrey, a former first selectman.

Her brother Con O’Leary remembers her as someone who enjoyed a good laugh, good food, belonged to book clubs and being social.  She loved the academic world, but after retiring as a school teacher she had to be talked into running for the board of education, he said.

“Once she got on it, she grew to love it,” O’Leary said.

Ives was born on January 16, 1943 in Hartford to the late Henry and Eleanor O’ Leary. She attended St. Mary Grammar School and Our Lady of Angels Academy in Enfield. She received both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Joseph College in West Hartford. She was a second grade teacher for 27 years at North Street School.

Although Brenda Ives was known as the wife of a former first selectman and the sister of a former 20-year state senator, she earned her own prominence in the community through the many students she taught and later being on the board of education, O’Leary said.

“She has a fairly high profile,” O’Leary, the former state senator and now board of finance chairman, said.

Patricia King, chairwoman of the Windsor Locks Board of Education, said Ives was a wonderful colleague, friend and advocate for the education of children.

King said Ives relayed her experience as a teacher to fellow board members to give insight about student behavior, classroom issues and curriculum.

King also remembers a friend who was an avid reader, and with whom she shared a passion for knitting and had their birthdays one day apart.

“She certainly will be missed,” King said.

In addition to her husband, Jeff, and brother, Con, she is survived by her two children, Deirdre Ives and her husband, Tom Johnson of PA and Jeffrey Ives of CA; brother John O’Leary and his wife, Beverly of Suffield; a sister Jean O’Leary of South Windsor and two grandchildren who meant everything to her, Madelyn and Thomas Johnson.

Visitation hours will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Windsor Locks Funeral Home, 441 Spring St.

A funeral procession will gather at 9 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home for a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am at St. Mary Church, 42 Spring St. Burial will be held at St. Mary Cemetery.

Memorial donations in memory of Brenda may be made to Windsor Locks Dollars for Scholars, P.O. Box 653, Windsor Locks, Ct 06096.