Dayna Gwen Barscello

Dayna Gwen Scott was born in Whitehorse, Yukon. Her father, an RCMP officer and her mother, a former Air Canada flight attendant, she lived the quintessential Canadian life. She was raised in the Canadian north under the watchful eye of her staff-seargent father, James R.H. Scott, and her loving mother, Frona. Frona influenced her daughter immensely, principled, dignified and quick ‘understated’ sense of humour. Frona ensured her daughters, Debra too, were perpetually squeaky clean, but mostly championed their gleaming white teeth. Dayna spent the majority of her formative years in Yellowknife, growing up with a tight and enduring circle of Yellowknife friends. Through high school, Dayna found great pleasure in a classroom setting, she was a known teacher’s favourite, high school valedictorian (1985), honours student and athlete. This passion stayed with her throughout, as Dayna was committed to higher learning and excellence.

Her love of art took her to the University of Victoria, where she completed an Art History Degree. Her career started at the Royal BC Museum and then moved on to Calgary’s Glenbow Museum. She regularly moved within the social circles of the art community, but her Fridays were spent in Marda Loop as part of the Friday night softball league.

In Calgary she met the love of her life playing softball, and “stealing second base” as the story goes. She married her husband, Jim, in September of 1995 in Calgary, AB and began their many adventures. Calgary and the friendships made there would remain a big part of their lives.

Posted to CFB Shilo (Brandon) MB, their family grew with the birth of their first child, Caley. Grandma and Grandpa were delighted and forevermore played a strong role in their grandchildren’s upbringing. After four years in Brandon, they moved to Kingston, Ontario for a short two year posting. This is where they added their beautiful daughter Jena. As always, Dayna had no problem making friends, in their short time in Kingston, she invested in a lovely group of parents and lifelong friends. Kingston would remain in their hearts from then on.

The military called, once more, opening up the opportunity to move back to Brandon. Dayna never underestimated the potential of a small Canadian town to raise her family. She found theatre, art, sport and culture in Brandon and wove her children tightly into this small prairie community. Being a military family presents some unique parenting challenges, Dayna’s genuineness and friendly smile opened many doors and friendships, always welcome among her military family friends. She also grew her friends from her children’s teachers, daycares and neighbours, nurturing them into our family. The military also found her employment as a curator of the Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) museum, for twenty rewarding years.

She spent many weekends cheering on her children inside hockey arenas and gymnasiums across western Canada. She brought grace and composure not only to the many military galas, but to her children's bottle drives and soccer games. Her family's summers were spent in Victoria, enjoying the coastal air with Grandma and Grandpa. Dayna’s most joyful and proudest achievement was undeniably being a mom, ensuring her children were promptly fed, tightly tucked in, and that they never ever missed a dentist appointment.

She enjoyed spending her time with the local art community, playing cards at Rossman Lake, listening to Stuart McClean stories, book clubs, a good strong cup of coffee, the occasional concert and traveling with friends and family. She generally took great pleasure in the smaller things.

Her life was cut short after a cancer diagnosis, which she fought courageously for three weeks. Her last moments were spent sharing beloved memories with her family. She passed away on the evening of October 13th, 2026, at the age of 58.

She will be dearly missed by her husband, Jim Barscello, her two children, Caley and Jena, her sister, Debra Scott and in-laws Darla and Mark McCart, among her many beloved nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles. A private family service will be held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.

“Sweet, sweet, the memories you gave to me”

Thank you to the Saanichton Peninsula and the Royal Jubilee hospital, nurses, doctors and staff. The outpouring of support and messages was overwhelming. Thank you.