Claudia Patricia Dyck

Heaven has gained an angel whose light shone so brightly on earth that its glow will never fade from our hearts. Claudia Patricia Dyck, who graced this world for 89 beautiful years, passed peacefully into eternal rest on January 21, 2026. Though our arms ache to hold her and our hearts break with missing her, we find comfort knowing that her spirit, so full of love, grace, and gentle strength, lives on in every life she touched, every heart she opened, and every moment of joy she created.

Claudia’s legacy lives on through her devoted sons Dean (Rhonda) and Shaun (Brandy); her cherished daughters Judy Rissling and Lorna Misselbrook (Lee); her beloved granddaughters Stephanie (Curtis), Alexandra, Kristina (Jeff), Michelle, Alysha, Taryn, and Cayla; and her precious great-grandchildren Katherine, Lawrence and Parker. She has been reunited in heaven with her beloved Donald, her dear sister Connie, and her parents Harold and Katherine Goodrich, and we can only imagine the joy of that reunion.

Where Love Began

Born in Radisson, Saskatchewan, Claudia grew up in the gentle embrace of small-town life, where she learned that the most important things in life are faith, family, and the courage to love deeply. After graduating from Saskatoon Business College, she worked as a teller at the CIBC and later as a secretary at CFQC in Saskatoon. But her life’s true purpose revealed itself the moment Donald Dyck walked into a church function to sing. Their eyes met, hearts recognized each other, and a love story for the ages began. They married in 1958, and from that day forward, they were inseparable partners in every sense, in faith, in work, in laughter, and in creating a family bound by unconditional love.

In their quiet moments together in those early years, Claudia and Donald would read Bible verses to each other, building a foundation of faith so strong it would carry them through every storm life brought. This sacred practice became the bedrock of their marriage and the spiritual inheritance they would pass to their children.

Together, they transformed a farm near Borden into something far more precious than land and livestock, they created a sanctuary of love where four children grew up knowing they were cherished beyond measure. Claudia poured her heart into that farm and into her family. Her hands, always busy with love’s work, tended a garden that seemed to grow miracles, producing vegetables she would carefully preserve to nourish her family through the long Saskatchewan winters. She worked side by side with Donald, never too proud for hard work, never too tired to find creative ways to make even wild game delicious for children with particular tastes.

The Gentlest Heart

To be in Claudia’s presence was to feel instantly at home. Her energy was soft as a whisper, gentle as a spring breeze, yet powerful enough to make you feel like the most important person in the world. When you walked into a room where she was, something in the air shifted, everything became warmer, safer, more loving. She had this remarkable gift of making you feel truly seen, genuinely valued, deeply cared for. Whether you were family, friend, or someone she’d just met moments before, she welcomed you into her heart with the same wholehearted embrace.

Though quiet and reserved with those she didn’t know well, once Claudia felt comfortable, her true spirit emerged, playful, witty, full of light. She had a way with words that could turn an ordinary moment into something memorable, a perfectly timed joke or a silly comment that made everyone around her laugh and smile. The residents at Hunter Village and Luther Riverside Terrace didn’t just appreciate her, they felt she was their mother too. That’s the kind of love she gave: expansive, inclusive, making everyone feel like they belonged to her.

Her home was legendary for its house parties where laughter echoed off the walls and joy was as plentiful as the food on her table. She and Donald would share playful moments that reminded everyone that love isn’t just tender—it’s also fun, spontaneous, alive with possibility. And always, always, there was music. Her children would come home from school, and before they even opened the door, they could hear it: Mom humming, Mom singing as she worked in the kitchen. That sound became the heartbeat of home, the melody that said, “You are loved. You are safe. You are home.”

Every single day, Claudia greeted her children with a genuine smile that lit up her entire face. She would ask about their days with real curiosity, real interest, making each child feel that their experiences mattered, their thoughts were important, their lives were worth celebrating. Can you imagine the gift of that? To know, every single day, that you mattered to someone so completely?

Love Made Visible

If you wanted to understand Claudia’s heart, you only needed to sit at her table. There, love became tangible. You could taste it in her legendary bread and cinnamon buns, feel it in the hours she spent preparing everyone’s favorite dishes, see it in the way the table groaned under the weight of her generosity. She would spend hours cooking, baking, preparing, creating feasts that fed not just bodies but souls. Family was everything to her, and meals were her way of gathering her most precious treasures close.

Around that table, magic happened. The conversations were loud, boisterous, filled with stories and laughter that made your sides hurt. Love spilled over in every direction. And Claudia? She would eat last, always. First, she made sure every single person had everything they needed—more potatoes, another helping, a fresh napkin, a refilled glass. She would get up from the table again and again, unable to sit while anyone might want for anything. That was who she was: someone whose own needs came last because making others happy filled her heart more than any meal ever could.

But the meal was never the end. Claudia had plans to keep everyone close just a little longer. “Let’s play cards,” she’d suggest, or “How about Yahtzee?” Sometimes it was a jigsaw puzzle that needed finishing. It didn’t matter what the activity was. What mattered was that her family was together, close enough to touch, gathered around her like flowers drawn to the sun. Those moments of connection, of simply being together, filled her heart until it overflowed with joy.

Whether it was Christmas morning, a birthday celebration, Thanksgiving dinner, or just an ordinary Sunday afternoon, Claudia made it extraordinary through the alchemy of her love. Even after moving to Saskatoon, she continued this sacred tradition, opening her door and her heart, inviting family in for meals that fed bodies and souls alike.

Her love extended beyond the table into every corner of her children’s lives. She was there for the school projects, the skating lessons, the swimming lessons. She sewed skating costumes with her own hands for Judy. She helped with 4-H projects, teaching skills that would last a lifetime. For her grandchildren, she never missed a birthday. Cards and gifts arrived like clockwork, each one chosen with thought and care. She invited them into her kitchen to learn the secrets of her recipes, played games that made them laugh, created crafts that became treasures. She poured love into them with both hands, wanting desperately to give them all the love her heart could hold, and miraculously, she did.

When storms came, and life always brings storms, Claudia became her children’s shelter. She listened with a presence so complete you felt heard all the way down to your soul. She didn’t tell you what to do; instead, with gentle wisdom, she helped you find the answers that were already living inside you. She sent cards with words that felt like hugs. She chose gifts that said, “I see you. I know what you’re going through. I’m here.” And in her quiet moments, she prayed. Oh, how she prayed for her children and grandchildren, holding them in her heart when they were hurting most, lifting them up to God when her own arms couldn’t reach them.

Her children knew, with absolute certainty, that no matter what mistakes they made, no matter what challenges they faced, no matter how far they wandered, their mother’s love would be there waiting. Constant. Unwavering. Unconditional. Infinite.

Where Music Lives

Music wasn’t just something Claudia did, it was the language her soul spoke. Her fingers knew their way across piano keys, guitar strings, the buttons of an accordion, the frets of a banjo. But true to her humble nature, she never sought recognition for her own considerable gifts. Instead, she channeled that love of music into her children, teaching them, encouraging them, watching with quiet pride as they developed talents that would bring joy to so many.

Playing music together as a family wasn’t just an activity, it was communion. It was how they spoke the things too big for words. And when her children performed, whether at a school recital or a grand concert hall, Claudia was there. She would sit in the audience, her heart so full it might burst, listening to her children create beauty with the gifts she had nurtured in them.

Music didn’t just speak to Claudia’s heart, it filled it completely, to the very brim. Into her late 70s, she and Donald would travel to Edmonton to hear Lorna perform in her orchestra. Can you picture it? This devoted mother, this woman who had given so much, traveling hundreds of miles just to sit in a concert hall and let her daughter’s music wash over her like a blessing? Those were the moments when her two great loves, music and family, merged into something transcendent. The joy on her face during those concerts could have lit up the night sky.

After every performance, she would tell her friends about her talented children. Not with boastfulness, but with wonder, as if she still couldn’t quite believe how blessed she was. “Did you hear them play?” she would ask, her eyes shining. “Weren’t they wonderful?”

Where Beauty Is Born

When the world became too loud, too demanding, too much, Claudia would retreat to her painting. There, with brush in hand and canvas before her, she found peace. She captured nature’s beauty in oils, acrylics, and watercolors, peaceful scenes that reflected the tranquility she sought and the beauty she saw all around her. Her paintings were prayers in color, meditations in brushstrokes, love letters to the world God created.

But here’s the heartbreaking thing: Claudia was her own harshest critic. She looked at paintings that others found breathtaking and saw only flaws. It was difficult for her to share her work, to believe that what she created was worthy of being seen. Yet those who received her paintings, they treasured them. They saw in them what she couldn’t see in herself: extraordinary talent, sensitivity, grace.

Even in her final months, even then, she was still creating. Her hands, aged but steady, still knew how to coax beauty onto canvas. Her artist’s eye, refined by decades of seeing the world’s wonder, still captured moments of grace. She painted almost until the very end, as if she couldn’t stop creating beauty even when her time was running short.

Photography was another way Claudia preserved beauty. She took thousands of pictures throughout her lifetime, understanding something profound: that memories fade, that moments slip away like water through fingers, but photographs can hold time still. Because of her foresight, her family now has treasures beyond price—images of ordinary days that have become precious, faces of loved ones caught mid-laugh, moments that would have been lost forever if not for her devotion to capturing life as it unfolded.

Her talents seemed endless. She worked alongside Donald raising champion purebred collies. And when her children were older, she brought her gifts to the Borden Hospital, cooking for patients with the same love she’d always poured into feeding her family. The food was so good, prepared with such care, that elderly residents would handmake cards just to thank her. They didn’t just appreciate her cooking; they felt her love in every bite. Somehow, she had the gift of nourishing souls while feeding bodies.

A Faith That Sustained

Faith wasn’t something Claudia put on for Sundays, it was woven into every fiber of her being, as essential as breathing. When sadness came, when questions plagued her, when life felt too heavy to bear, she would turn to her Bible or her daily devotional readings. There, in those sacred words, she found hope that lifted her up and healing that mended what was broken.

Her faith was tested by fire. The loss of her parents in her 20s, and later, the shattering grief of losing Donald, her partner of nearly 65 years. But each time, she leaned into God, trusted in His plan, and found the strength to keep going. She believed, with her whole heart, that God was watching over all of them, that He would make everything right in His perfect timing.

She taught Lorna the Serenity Prayer, words that became a lifeline: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” When her children were troubled, struggling, lost, she always knew just the right verse to share, the perfect words to bring comfort. Her faith wasn’t abstract or theoretical, it was practical, lived out in daily choices, visible in how she loved, how she forgave, how she trusted.

She served her community with the same devotion she brought to everything else. She volunteered countless hours with the United Church, the 4-H club, and as a devoted member of the Order of the Eastern Star. At Lions Club events and community gatherings. The United Church was her spiritual home, the soil where her faith put down deep, unshakeable roots.

Love Without Limits

At 80-something years old, Claudia taught herself to use an iPad. She learned to order groceries online. She became an enthusiastic user of Facebook, determined to stay connected with the people she loved. Think about that for a moment. This woman who had lived through the Great Depression, who had raised four children on a farm without modern conveniences, who had worked so hard for so long, she refused to let age or technology intimidate her. She stayed curious, stayed engaged, stayed open to the future. What an example. What a gift.

Perhaps nothing captures Claudia’s spirit better than what happened when she met Shaun’s future wife, Brandy, for the first time. It was Donald’s 75th birthday party, a big celebration with lots of people. Brandy was nervous, meeting the family of someone you love is always intimidating. But Claudia? She swept in like sunshine breaking through clouds. Without hesitation, without reservation, she made Brandy feel at home. She talked with her, included her, made her feel like she mattered.

When it was time for the family photo, Claudia insisted that Brandy be in it. Not as a guest. Not as someone on the outside looking in. As family. As if she already knew (maybe she did know) that this young woman was meant to be part of their story forever. This simple, beautiful gesture spoke volumes about who Claudia was: someone who saw the best in people, who opened her heart without reservation, and who understood that family is built on love, not just blood.

The Song She Sang

There is a memory so tender, so perfect, that it deserves to be held close to our hearts forever. When Lorna was small, she would curl up against her mother, small body tucked into the safety of Claudia’s embrace. And Claudia would stroke her daughter’s hair with gentle hands and sing a song, her voice soft and sweet: “Mighty Like a Rose.”

But she didn’t sing it the way it was written. No, Claudia made it special, personal, just for her daughter:

“Sweetest little girlie, everybody knows. Don’t know what to call her, but she’s mighty like a rose. Looking at her mommy, with eyes so shiny blue. Makes you think that heaven is a peeking through at you.”

Can you feel it? The tenderness? The absolute, pure love? In those moments, Lorna felt her mother’s love so completely that it became part of her, woven into her very being. She probably sang that song to all her children, but here’s the miracle: she made each one feel uniquely special, individually cherished, singularly beloved. And that—that ability to make each person feel like they were her favorite, her most precious treasure—that was Claudia’s greatest gift.

The Legacy Lives On

Claudia’s legacy isn’t measured in years or achievements, it’s measured in love. In the family bonds that will never break. In the unconditional acceptance she modeled. In the authentic, genuine love she gave so freely. She taught her family to practice gratitude daily, to take care of others before themselves, to make time to stay connected with the people who matter. She passed down not just artistic and musical talents, but something far more valuable: the understanding that love, kindness, and giving are what make life worth living.

She taught them to stay curious, to never stop learning, to approach the future with open minds and eager hearts. And perhaps most importantly, she lived by the creed she shared: “Forgive often and love with all your heart.”

These lessons live on. They live in her children, who cook with love and create beauty and hold their own families close. They live in her grandchildren, who know what it feels like to be cherished absolutely. They live in her great-grandchildren, who will hear stories about a great-grandmother who loved without limits. The importance of family bonds, the power of unconditional love, these will echo through the generations, rippling outward like circles on water, touching lives that Claudia will never meet in person but whose hearts she will touch nonetheless.

Until We Meet Again

Though Claudia has left this earthly home, her influence remains immeasurable, infinite, eternal. Every meal shared with love, every card sent at just the right moment, every prayer whispered in faith, every peal of laughter, every note of music, every brushstroke of beauty, every photograph preserving what would have been lost, every act of service performed without expectation of thanks—these are the threads she wove into the tapestry of her life, and oh, what a masterpiece she created.

She made everyone she encountered feel valued. Seen. Important. Loved. In a world that can be harsh and cold, she was warmth and welcome. In a world that often feels lonely, she was connection and belonging. In a world that sometimes seems to have forgotten how to love, she was a living reminder of what love looks like when it’s lived out loud, given freely, offered without conditions.

The house will feel emptier without her. The holidays will have a hole where her laughter used to be. The table will feel too big with her chair sitting empty. We will reach for the phone to call her before remembering we can’t. We will ache with missing her in ways we didn’t know we could ache.

But here is what we know: her love surrounds us still. Her example guides us forward. Her spirit, that beautiful, gentle, generous spirit, continues to inspire us to live with greater kindness, deeper faith, and more courageous love. She showed us how. Now we must carry it forward, passing on the gifts she gave us to a world that desperately needs more people like her.

Rest now, dear Claudia. Your work here is done, and oh, what beautiful work it was. You are reunited with Donald, with Connie, with your parents, with all those who went before. We can only imagine the celebration in heaven, the joy of that reunion, and the peace you must feel.

Your life was a blessing that touched countless hearts. Your memory is a treasure we will guard fiercely. Your love is a gift that will never, ever fade.

Until we meet again, Mom. Grandma. Great-Grandma. Friend. Angel. We love you. We will always love you. And we promise to live in a way that honours the beautiful life you lived and the extraordinary love you gave.

"Makes you think that heaven is a peeking through at you."

Celebration of Life

A celebration of Claudia’s life will be held in May at a date, time and location to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to STARS or the charity of your choice