Author and Community Leader: Nessa Bedward Sherwood (née Brown)

Nessa Bedward Sherwood née Brown

Mausoleum – Corridor BB – Niche 75G

Nessa Bedward (Brown) Sherwood was born in Kingston, Jamaica to Herbert (Pops) and Estelle Brown. Herbert moved to Montreal in 1937 and served in the army during the Second World War. His service led to him being given citizenship during a time that West Indians were not frequently accepted.

The Brown family moved to Canada in 1954 to join him he left the army. Sherwood was 20 when she arrived in Ottawa with her husband Ven Bedward and their sons Marvin and Dane.

The Browns opened the Brown’s Cleaners and Tailors in 1957, making them the first black family business owners in Ottawa. Herbert was the cleaner and Estelle was the seamstress, with Sherwood helping wherever she could.

The Browns family was well known in the community for welcoming immigrants and being a community hub especially for the Afro-Caribbean community. This was especially true when in the late 1950’s the Canadian Government launched a program to bring in Caribbean women for work as domestic helpers.

Sherwood describes her parents house as “for a while, their house was one of the only houses that the ladies of the islands would have as a place of sanctuary”.

After open several locations, Herbert and Estelle retire and sell the business to Nessa, her husband and their son Winston in 1971. Despite the success of the business, the well-established dry-cleaning business was sold to the present owners in 1978.

Sherwood then moved on to be an accomplished nurse at the Ottawa Hospital for over 20 years, followed by private nursing with the Ottawa Community Nursing Registry for 20 years. Sherwood stated that during her word as a nurse during the 1950’s, outside of work her colleagues would ignore her due to her race.

Outside of her nursing career, Sherwood was an accomplished writer of adult and children’s books and recorded singer/songwriter. Her book The Intrepid Soul is a collection of poems and songs about her life, which was publish on May 30th 2015.

Nessa served as a volunteer for several charitable and non-profit organizations: The Elizabeth Fry Society, The Diabetes Association of Canada, Planned Parenthood, The YM/YWCA, Grannies for Africa, Funding for the African Caribbean Health Network, and support for the AIDS Community of Ottawa. She was a finalist for the Y-Ottawa Citizen Community Volunteers - Women of Distinction Award in 2009.

Nessa Sherwood died on April 15, 2022 at the age of 87.