In Memorium
They nurtured our spirits and gave us their courage.As you read the memorials of women and men who served the United Church in Diaconal Ministry, you are invited to ponder their stories. Drink in their courage, their commitment, and their wisdom. Let their lives and memories nurture your spirit.
In Memorium
A human life is holy,
for it comes from God
and it returns to God:
A human life is holy
in its becoming.
A human life is holy
in its living
And a human life is holy
in its dying
Carole Etzler’s song, “Standing Before Us” has often been sung at diaconal gatherings. The song invites us to appreciate and embody the wisdom we receive from the our elders who have gone before us. The third verse of the song reminds us that these forebears “nurtured our spirits” and “gave us their courage.” Through their witness we are made strong.
As you read the memorials of women and men who served the United Church in Diaconal Ministry, you are invited to ponder their stories. Drink in their courage, their commitment, and their wisdom. Let their lives and memories nurture your spirit.
Longer biographies of women who entered the diaconate prior to 1980 are available at UCCDeaconessHistory.ca
Remembered
Each time DUCC meets, a time of worship names those who have died since DUCC last gathered. See below for biographies on the women and men who have been recently remembered.
The following people will be remembered at the 2020 DUCC National Gathering:
Frances Clarke, July 5, 2018
Sharon Davis, July 26, 2017
Ruth (Peat) Robertson, June 3, 2017
Jessie MacLeod, May 3, 2018
PAST MEMORIAL PRESENTATIONS:
2018 National Gathering: To view the Memorial Service: Memorial Script and Memorial Slideshow (download and print the script which has the corresponding slide numbers for viewing the slideshow)
2017 National Gathering: o view the Memorial service: Memorial Script and Memorial Slideshow (download and print the script with the corresponding slide numbers for viewing the slideshow)
Our Community
In Memorium
Beatrice Leslie Doidge
In Memorium Beatrice May (Leslie) Doidge, born September 28, 1911, grew up in the farming community of Banner, Ontario, about 17 miles east of London, the fifth of six children born to George and Lawrence Leslie. Her family was very involved in the church. Her...
Averil Cropp Banks
In Memorium Averil Cropp was born July 18, 1920, at Gerald, Saskatchewan. She had a variety of careers, from hairdresser, to farmer, to World War 2 era factory worker manufacturing radar, to teacher. In 1951, she received her Bachelor of Household Science degree...
Louise (Cox) Pritchard
In Memorium Louise Cox was born in Morell, Prince Edward Island in 1923, into a proud but modest family. She was one of 4 children born to Russell and Katherine, coming after Elizabeth, Dorothy and Robert. Her father died while she was quite young leaving her...
Ruth Sandilands Lang
In Memorium Ruth Lucille Sandilands was born in Glen Morris, Ontario, a small town in southwestern Ontario, in 1921. Her parents Mary (McCrea) and John had their hands full with their daughter. Ruth’s own daughter, Wendy, said of her mother, “She was kind,...
Anne Liota
In Memorium Redeemer. It’s a precious name to us all, but especially to Anne Liota. Anne was the fourth of five children born to Italian parents living in the North End of Hamilton back in the 1920s. There was a United Church there – Redeemer. It had a mission...
Jean Tough Day
In Memorium Jean Marilyn Tough was born on August 4, 1935. She began professional life as a nurse. With her BScN,she pursued a theological education in the interest of equipping her to serve overseas as a missionary nurse. After two years at Covenant College,...
Marion Current
In Memorium Marion Current was born in 1932 in Cobalt, Ontario and grew up active in the United Church. After high school she entered the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto and graduated in Physio and Occupational Therapy. Two years of practice and...
Evelyn Beveridge
In Memorium Evelyn Celestia Denton was born to Isabel and James Denton, at their home, a small apartment on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton, November 13, 1920. She was the first of 10 children. In 1924, her parents, then with 3 children, bought a farm in Duffield,...
Alice Dahms Irwin
In Memorium Alice Dahms and her two brothers grew up in Ontario as “pk’s” (preacher’s kids), in the former Evangelical United Brethren Church; since 1968 it has been part of the United Church of Canada. Alice was only sixteen when her mother died. Her father...