Rachel Evadne Wyatt

The author and playwright, Rachel Wyatt (Order of Canada - CM), has died aged 94. Rachel passed away peacefully in Victoria on 7 July 2024 surrounded by her family. Born in Bradford, England, Rachel emigrated to Canada in 1957 with her husband, Alan, and two young children, Tony and Diana. Having already had short plays for radio accepted by the BBC, Rachel continued to develop her writing career despite adding two more children to the family, Tim and Sally; and moving house in tandem with her husband’s engineering career. She had continued success in writing radio dramas commissioned and produced by the CBC and BBC. Her first novel, The String Box, was published in 1970. Her complete works comprise many more novels, short stories, and stage plays. Rachel’s papers have been accepted for preservation in Library and Archives Canada

Rachel Wyatt inspired several generations of aspiring writers during her tenure as the Director of the Writing Studio at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Her sense of adventure also led her to spend time on Baffin Island with the aim of preserving oral histories of the Inuit population. In later years, inspired by her great-grandchildren, Rachel produced cheerful, colourful children’s books.

In recognition of the important contributions she made to the development of Canadian literature, Rachel was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002.

The Wyatt family is grateful to the staff of Carlton House, Oak Bay and to Dr Rosenberg and his team for providing Rachel with a comfortable and safe environment since early 2022.

A memorial service for Rachel will be held at First Memorial Funeral Services, 1155 Fort Street, Victoria on Thursday 11 July at 10 am. The service will be livestreamed. For details, check the First Memorial website.

Rachel expressed a wish for people to wear colourful clothing. Please do not send flowers.

Livestream Webcasting Link: https://fweb.tv/150615