Karyl Reba Brabants

On Monday, April 6th, Karyl Reba Brabants (nee Albee) finally found peace, joining her beloved husband of 63 years, Edmund Brabants. Karyl’s kindness and generosity, her smile and calm, her quiet devotion to her family, her talents in the kitchen, garden and beyond and her joy in people will be remembered with tremendous love by her family and friends, and especially her children, Charlotte, Mike and Paul.

Born in North Quincy, Mass to Lowell and Elsie Albee (nee Hanson), Karyl relished growing up surrounded by her parents and her grandmother as well as her brothers, Lowell and Cal. She was a great deal younger than her brothers, and everyone doted on the pretty little girl with vividly sparkling blue eyes. Karyl attended Francis W Parker elementary school, which her own children would later briefly attend as well, and then North Quincy High School where she was a popular member of the student body and a hard-working student.

Karyl was also a very popular and active member of her church groups, had many friends and a very active social life. She enjoyed dating and dancing and days at the beach, trips to Florida, being an aunt, church events and home life. Karyl and Eddie met on a double date, partnered with other people. It did not take them long to realise they were meant to be together, and they quickly started dating seriously. Ice cream, lobster, dancing, friends, walks through the city—Karyl and Ed set the tone for the pace of their lives together, always on the go and having a great time! Mom worked at that time at a Boston bank as a teller and enjoyed being in the bustle of the city. When she met Eddie, Karyl continued at the bank but took on some new roles including typing up Ed’s study notes from Northeastern. Their partnership firmly established, Karyl married Ed on April 1st, setting off the very next day for Alameda, California, starting their married, military and family lives together in 1962.

Always a devoted wife and mother, Karyl created their first home together in Alameda, had the first of her three children and leaned into the life of a Navy wife. One early accomplishment was teaching herself to cook from a two-volume set of books dad bought for her, Meta Givens Modern Family cookbook. These well-thumbed volumes took pride of place in her kitchen and moved around the country, unpacked in each new kitchen. Karyl honed her skills and developed her culinary repertoire and recipe list of local and international cuisines, with Italian recipes like rigatoni and lasagne proving perennial favorites. Karyl was a talented baker, and her cakes, cookies and brownies brought people running to the kitchen. Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies and butternut crunch pie were on many wishlists!

Karyl was as much a member of the military as Ed, moving with him each time he received a training opportunity or advancement. When Ed first went back into the Navy in 1962, he said he would leave if she did not like the military life. It obviously agreed with her, and she never complained about the frequent relocations and the need to pack and unpack so often. Instead, she embraced the changes and opportunities that military life offered. Karyl served alongside Ed in her capacity of supportive and loving wife and mother, supporting his career, travelling the country while raising three children and integrating into new locations and communities, creating safe and caring homes in Alameda, CA, Jacksonville, FL, Virginia Beach, VA, Millington, TN, South Weymouth, MA and finally, San Diego, CA. Karyl participated in life on the base, played key roles in the Navy Wives clubs, and participated in so much from visits to the swimming pool, bowling leagues, Navy picnics, always enjoying a naval air show, and so much more.

A talented creator all her life, Karyl had a particular gift for sewing, cross-stitch and embroidery, making clothes for herself and the children as well as home textiles, including beautifully embroidered linens and lovely decorative wall hangings. She enjoyed creating and hand-painting an extensive nativity arrangement which made the house festive for many Christmases (along with her ever-expanding Christmas village!). Karyl threw herself into learning new things whenever possible and this habit lasted until she started to be affected by the Alzheimer’s that claimed so many of her memories. She attended memoir writing sessions and crafted a detailed account of her early years before finding it difficult to continue.

Karyl was an incredibly loving mother and a devoted wife, but she always made sure that she was active outside the home, doing things she wanted and loved. Karyl took a job in Weymouth, working for Hallmark in the Navy Exchange there. She really enjoyed it and showed a real flair for merchandising. In San Diego, she was always on hand to support at church or at school, and she volunteered, including a stint she really enjoyed at a local elementary school, helping students to improve their reading, and working closely with the classroom teacher. Karyl worked for a long time at Anesthesia Service Medical Group, supporting clinicians to administer their practices and finances in her role as bookkeeper. At ASMG, she proved invaluable to the company, and despite their numerous entreaties to take on greater responsibility and move up the ladder, Karyl insisted on an artfully managed work-life balance. This continued when she moved on to a property management firm, until Ed’s retirement from the USPS at which time he convinced Karyl to join him in this new chapter. In everything she did, Karyl demonstrated a strong work ethic and dedication to her employers, fellow employees as well as her duties.

Karyl’s retirement chapter was unsurprisingly busy, productive and enjoyable. Throughout their lives together, Ed and Karyl ensured that they spent time together, enjoying life in many ways and this continued after retirement. Fine and casual dining, regular attendance at the theatre, being avid patrons of San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, days out visiting historical monuments and scenic locations, attendance at San Diego Padre and Gulls games, regular trips to San Diego Zoo and Seaworld alongside relaxed days visiting museums and Balboa Park or enjoying a sub sandwich from Mona Lisa on Harbor Island, Karyl watching the people and the boats go by, Ed keeping a close eye on activity in the air and on the sea at North Island-- they stayed active and on the go. Their social life continued with evenings playing cards at home with friends and neighbours, tours of local sites of interest and of course, travel. The many trips around the USA and internationally to visit her children, nieces and nephews, more distant relatives and friends were artfully documented in lovingly curated albums and scrapbooks from so many locations and full of so many adventures: from Seattle, to Salt Lake, to Germany, England and Ireland. Karyl never forgot her New England roots and her Scandanavian heritage but embraced so many customs and cultures, enjoying hearth and home as well as far flung travel. She was a loving and much-loved, wise and generous woman, a fantastic wife to Ed and mother to Charlotte, Mike and Paul and a wonderful aunt to Cheryl, Mark, Keith, Marianne and Peter. Mom loved her family and people in general, always looking kindly and with a positive view, always ready with a warm word, smile and laugh and a real love of fun.

Karyl’s life will be celebrated and remembered with great love by her family and children. A short committal service will be held jointly with her loving husband’s at 12:30 on Friday, 8th May at Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Nobel Drive, San Diego, CA 92122. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association. https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-involved/donate