Obituary of Dianne Burke

1942-2021

Peacefully, at home, surrounded by family on Thursday, November 18, 2021. Dianne weighed less than 5 pounds when she came into this world, probably premature, nobody’s sure. A few weeks earlier, Dianne’s mother had watched the family’s farmhouse burn to the ground, a terrible loss. Some believe the stress hastened Dianne’s delivery and galvanized her incredible capacity for strength and determination in life. A rural, 1940s childhood in northern Ontario included coal oil lamps, an outhouse, and a steel washtub in the kitchen, Dianne and her sisters’ catching rides from feisty old retired racehorses that grazed the pasture next door. Skilled in knitting, sewing, needlepoint, and crotchet, Dianne earned 4-H “Country Honours” in 1959. She participated in Ontario’s first annual spelling bee in 1956 fostering her lifelong love of letters and words, the daily Word Jumble puzzles and endless games of Scrabble (we enjoyed the heated ones with her sister Myrna). Dianne met her love Dennis in Bancroft, and they married in 1965, a 52 year journey together, residing first in Quebec and then Ontario.  Dianne enjoyed her work in teaching and in daycare, a recreational curler and a Jeopardy aficionado who found her passion in the art of stained glass. Dianne was the loving mother of Michael & Brenda Chow, Scott & Alex, and Stacie & Bill Imperial, and loving grandmother of Emma, Hailey, and Ryan. Dear sister of Lois & Gerry Cooper, Myrna Pacey, and the late Jack, Patricia, Dorrie, Betty, and Bob. Dianne was predeceased by her parents, Clark & Rena (Sackrider) Pacey and by Dennis. We are grateful to Lakeridge Health Cancer Centre in Oshawa, and the palliative care team of truly remarkable nurses and Dr. Kim Ferguson. Dianne will be interred at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Bancroft, with a service planned for the spring. If desired, memorial donations may be made by cheque to the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation. Memories, photos and condolences may be shared at www.waggfuneralhome.com