ISABEL OVERTON BADER 1926 - 2022
We were all saddened to hear the news of the passing of our beloved benefactor Dr Isabel Overton Bader, LL'07 on 28 August. Along with her late husband Alfred, she was instrumental in turning vision into reality, creating the opportunity for students to expand their horizons at Bader College.
Principal Patrick Deane said, “A quiet yet powerful champion of the arts and arts education in Canada, Isabel Bader inspired and enabled students to become scholars, teachers, and artists. She opened up the world of music, art, dance, theatre, and costume to thousands of Canadians.â€
Isabel and Alfred Bader were known, as a couple, for their generosity to Queen’s, notably their donation of The Bader Collection (comprising more than 500 works of art, including four Rembrandt paintings), Herstmonceux Castle, and a centre for the performing arts for Queen’s and Kingston. Together, as well, they endowed chairs and created numerous bursaries and awards at Queen’s to advance education and research.
Pictured left, is Isabel’s last visit to the Castle in September 2019 to mark a very special 80th anniversary of the Kindertransport, the mass evacuation of Austrian children that allowed Alfred to escape persecution in Vienna just prior to the beginning of World War Two. In June the previous year, Bader College had celebrated 25 years as an educational institution, so Isabel’s visit was our opportunity to express our thanks for having the foresight to create a truly transformative educational experience for students from Canada and all over the world at Herstmonceux Castle.
We are all still motivated by a common commitment to the promise this place represents through Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader’s generous gift almost 30 years ago, but will perhaps never truly be able to express our thanks.
Pictured right, Isabel Bader examines the plaque at the 'Alfred and Isabel Bader Tricolour Garden' on the grounds of Herstmonceux Castle.