Irja Anneli Westwood
July 22, 1943-Nov. 14, 2025
Anneli Westwood died at St. Vincent’s Hospital on the morning of Nov. 14.
She was a caring friend, a loving wife, mother and grandmother, and a beloved member of the Ottawa Finnish community. Those who knew her will remember her for her wit and her energy. She was a lifelong dancer and a keen walker, enjoying Zumba classes and covering vast distances on foot around Ottawa until earlier this year.
Anneli was born Irja Anneli Piiroinen in Helsinki, Finland, on July 22, 1943. Though her family had modest means, she was able to travel to Turkey, Rome and Canada with her older sister, who had married an Italian diplomat and needed Anneli to help care for their children.
When in Ottawa in 1965, Anneli met the love of her life, Don Westwood, by chance at a party. They spent as much time together as they could over the next two weeks before returning back to their respective homes in England and Finland. Within a year Anneli had joined Don in England and they married on Oct. 22, 1966.
Their family grew to include a daughter, Karina, in 1967, and a son, Kris, in 1970. In 1971, the family emigrated back to Ottawa, where Don had secured a teaching position at the Carleton University School of Architecture.
As the children grew older, Anneli embarked on a successful career as an administrator at the School of Linguistics and Language Studies at Carleton. She retired in 2008.
Anneli will be missed terribly by her husband, Don; by her daughter Karina and her husband Douglas Korchinski and their three children Anna, Theo and Max; and by her son Kris and his wife Tina Birkenheier.