Barbara Blahomila Neill passed away on February 23, 2024 at the age of 70 in Toronto after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was born in Ostrava, Czechoslovakia on January 15, 1954. She is predeceased by her parents, Vera and Ladislav Urban and her brother, Ladislav Urban Jr.

At a young age she developed a passion for art which eventually led her to The Industrial School of Art in Brno, where she graduated as a commercial artist. She continued her career in art, married, and had two daughters.

Barbara always had an independent spirit and was the driving force for her family to leave Czechoslovakia under the Soviet regime. To provide a better life for her two children, she and her young family made an arduous year-long journey through former Yugoslavia to Austria and eventually to Canada in April 1988.

Ten years later, after having established a new life in Toronto, Barbara married James Neill. She is survived by her husband; her two daughters, Gabriela Armenia and Tereza Slaninova; and her four grandchildren, Harley and Noah McCormack, and Lucas and Alexander Armenia.

Barbara’s love of art and design permeated her everyday life. She continued to embrace her imagination and push her creative boundaries; she painted landscapes on her walls, dressed herself artfully, meticulously decorated her homes and dabbled in pottery. She also loved to travel, ski, hike, and cycle, which she and her husband did extensively around the world. She loved Europe, spoke several languages, and cherished her apartment in Prague as she embraced a full life in both Canada and her native Czech Republic.

The family would like to thank the staff at Harmony Hills for their kind and dedicated care.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday May 24th at 11:00 am at Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre, 375 Mount Pleasant Rd., Toronto.

In lieu of flowers, donations to Alzheimer's Society of Toronto would be appreciated.