Latest news with #Nain
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Joan Dicker, 64, remembered as pillar of Nain who fought to keep living life
It's hard to sum up the legacies Joan Dicker is leaving behind. The longtime Inuktitut teacher wasn't one to stay still for very long, working tirelessly to help and give back to others in her hometown of Nain over the span of decades. The 64-year-old Inuk elder, who died at the Labrador Health Centre on May 29, is being remembered as a champion for her language and culture, not to mention a dedicated volunteer who was proud of her community. Her daughter, Julie Dicker — principal at Jens Haven Memorial school in Nain — says her mother was one-of-a-kind, describing her as a "hands-on, actions speaking louder than words type of woman" who always kept busy. Funny, outgoing, sometimes blunt, Julie says her mother wore her heart on her sleeve and always spoke her mind. She said her mother espoused working hard for what you want, but to not shy away from asking for help if needed. "She instilled in me values of treating everyone with respect, being kind to everybody, and doing good for yourself and others in your community," Julie Dicker said in an interview with CBC Radio's Labrador Morning. Julie said her mother's breast cancer diagnosis didn't stop her from doing what she was passionate about. "She didn't even want us to know how sick and tired she was. But, like, she kept going. She kept being busy," she said. "She kept going to these workshops, these language summits, volunteering, and like this was all when she was sick right within this one year." A leader from childhood Joan Regina Dicker was born in Nain on Jan. 5, 1961. She was 18 years old when she started teaching in September of 1979, Julie said. She began as a student teacher, then changed teaching positions a few times before getting a teaching degree in 2002. Joan worked at Jens Haven Memorial School as an Inuktitut teacher for over a decade until her retirement in 2017. She also taught Inuktitut courses with Memorial University and with the Nunatsiavut government. Her lifelong friend, 65 year-old Sophie Ford, remembers Joan as being a leader since childhood. Their friendship goes back to when they were just toddlers, setting the stage for a lasting friendship that included singing in the Nain choir together. Ford remembers the boarding school in Nain promoting English in a big way in those early years, but says Joan made Inuktitut a priority, having learned the language since childhood growing up with her grandparents. Her grandfather, Martin Martin, was a respected chief elder in the Moravian church. "She was a proud person, proud of her language, proud of her culture and proud of her grandfather," Ford said, adding that she rebelled against the dominance of English from a very young age, speaking Inuktitut during recess. "I always admired Joan's ability to speak … it to her grandparents, you know, without blinking an eye." At residential school in North West River, Joan and fellow schoolmate Beatrice Hope wrote a song called Nainimut Aigumavugna — a song that translates as 'I want to go back to Nain'. That song tugged at the heart strings of teens like Ford and others who were also at the Yale residential school, far away from home. Decades later, Joan shared her residential school story during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Parliament Hill in September 2024 — and she proudly spoke in Inuktitut. She was invited to speak on behalf of survivors in Labrador. Joan was dedicated to working with and for people, said Julie, whether that was volunteering at a Cain's Quest check point, helping to do community cleanups or coaching junior and senior girls' broom ball. In the late 1980s, Joan and Ford, together with some others, started Nain C.A.R.E. — Nain Community Assistance and Relief Effort —to help people who lost their homes to fire, needed financial help getting to medical appointments or getting home for funerals. As volunteers, they raised funds by holding weekly dances. In later years, Nain C.A.R.E. took over organizing the Jan. 6 Nalujuit night gathering in the town with Joan's involvement, as always, Ford said. Joan loved Christmas traditions in her community. She said Nalujuit night was the most exciting time of the Christmas season during Labrador Morning interviews. It's a tradition where people dress in furs and skins — said to have come off the sea ice having travelled from afar — and make their way around the community chasing children and adults alike. She sang in the Moravian church choir with the likes of tenor Karrie Obed, and the Christmas concerts they put off together at the school were unforgettable, said Julie. "People go to watch the Christmas concert because they knew it was Joan Dicker's Christmas concert type of thing," she said. Julie said her mother started the Starlights — a girls gospel music group — that performed at the Katilautta music festivals. The festival was another one of Joan's ideas, who then worked with others to put it off in Nain. Her love for music goes back to when she was young, said Julie, growing up listening to lots of music in her home. Later she became passionate about translating songs into Inuktitut. Ford recalls she did a lot of that translating to use in the classroom. "She said she found it hard to find material that was translated into the Inuktitut language. There was some, but she wanted more. And so she did her own," Ford said. Ford remembers her artistic friend — talented at embroidery — as always being a joy to be around, someone who never wanted to sit at home and wonder what to do next in life. "I'll just remember her as a really, really good friend and someone who was always there to make life better for others and especially for the community," she said. Other friends miss her, too. "I wish it was just a dream that you are gone to heaven" a friend posted on Joan's Facebook page recently. "It's still hard to believe Joan (Inuk Titut) isn't here with us anymore. It's hard to put into words of the life she lived because they are so many, but I will say she was a very special person who cared for so much and didn't ask for anything in return," said another. Julie said news of her mother's death was felt across the North, including Inuktitut language organizations and others across Inuit Nunangat. She always knew how hard Joan worked, but after her death she heard from others about just how creative her mother was in the classroom, how her teaching was "so interactive and effective" with students and just how passionate she was about everything she did. "She affected so many lives as a teacher, as a volunteer, as a person passionate about her language and culture," she said. Joan's dedication became crystal clear when Julie wrote down her mother's thoughts a few days before she died. "She really wanted to say, for me to say, on her Facebook page from her, that she is so sad because she has so much more to give to her community, to her people, to the language and to her family and to her grand kids. And that like, stuck in my mind, like that's her legacy is giving back," she said. Joan's words, as written down by her daughter, read in part: "There's so much more work to do, so much more to give. I wanted to do so much more in my community, even though I did a lot. I wanted to do more, because there's so much more to give, to my community and my people. So much more to do and give to my people and my family everyday. Unfortunately, I can't at the moment." Julie said her brother picked the perfect spot for Joan's final resting place, about a 45-minute snowmobile ride away from Nain. A cross sits on top of a hill right by her cabin looking out toward the ocean and the point. It reads Joan "Areke" Dicker with the words "one day at a time" inscribed below. Areke is short for Arekena, which is how her middle name Regina is said in Inuktitut. "One day at a time" is the name of one of Joan's favourite songs, Julie said. It's a song her mother translated into Inuktitut and sang with her dad, Sam Dicker, playing it on guitar. Julie said her mother was singing and humming the song a couple of days before she died, and it played during her mother's memorial service at the church. Julie smiles now thinking how fast her mother would make the trip to her cabin by snowmobile, leaving everyone else behind. Ford remembers her friend's unrelenting zest for life. "She passed away on May 29 and she was out on skidoo in April. You know, she was on the go right til the last month," Ford said. "She fought to keep living life." Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Labrador MHA says she doesn't have 'much faith' in NLHS after man died during long delays for medical travel
The MHA representing northern Labrador says she's lost faith in Newfoundland and Labrador's health-care system because of what she calls a lack of care for the people in her district. "I don't really have much faith in them, because for them it's all about the perception of doing something, the perception of working on something, the perception of putting in solutions, when really all they're doing is just trying to control the messaging and the appearance," Lela Evans told CBC News on Tuesday, referring to meetings she's had with Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services. "It's a scary time for people in northern Labrador. If somebody becomes sick, everybody almost panics, because we know how hard it is to get proper treatment." Evans pointed to a recent incident that she says documents a failure of the health-care system. She said Tomas Pamak, an elder in Nain with Stage 4 cancer, recently had to wait five days for a medical evacuation to receive his diagnosis. She claims he was bumped from flights for four days, and was told by the health authority there were higher priority cases. Pamak later died, after seven days of waiting to return home to his family, Evans said. The family was told weather also played a factor in not being able to fly, Evans said, but those living Nain disagree. Evans believes she and residents were lied to. "If somebody is not medevaced until the fifth day ... our people are dying. Our people are being harmed by the failure to be able to access adequate and timely health care," Evans said. "When we look at a medevac to get someone out, and they're given those reasons, I can't trust them. I can't." Evans, a longtime advocate for adequate health care in the region, said she believes northern Labrador is lower in the pecking order than other regions in the province. "The system is so burdened now that they're picking and choosing who gets the resources. Northern Labrador is the last on the list, cause we're out of sight, out of mind," she said. In an emailed statement, Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services told CBC News it's committed to the highest level of care for all residents in the province. The statement specifically noted work to advance an integrated road and air ambulance service in Newfoundland and Labrador, saying it "provides a historic opportunity to transform the system and enhance services for people throughout the province, including those located in northern Labrador." Evans said the look to the future is part of the problem — and that resources to help people of northern Labrador are needed now. "We have a lot of our elders who are actually passing away from illness that if they'd been diagnosed earlier, they could have had treatment," she said. "They could have extended their lives. So that's a failure." Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
18-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
How a girls hockey team from Nain found themselves at a PWHL playoff game
It's a trip they will remember for a lifetime. Girls from Nain had the opportunity to travel to Montreal to watch a Professional Women's Hockey League playoff game. The trip came to be when TSN's Breaking Down Barriers, a series that highlights individuals and organizations who want to change hockey culture, did a feature on the team and their community. "We know hockey is [a] pretty exclusive sport, so we want to share and tell those stories and highlight programs that are welcoming to everybody," the show's host, Saroya Tinker, told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning. Tinker is taking on a director role this reason, directing the episode featuring the girls from Nain. On top of her role with TSN, Tinker is the manager of diversity, equity and inclusion with the PWHL. A crew filmed the girls in Nain to get a sense of the community and the things they do there. Then came the most exciting part of the experience for the team — actually heading to Montreal to catch the PWHL playoff game. Air Canada and the PWHL were major sponsors of the trip, but Julie Dicker, a team chaperone during the trip, says it wouldn't have been possible without funding from the Aboriginal Sport and Recreation Circle Newfoundland and Labrador. "It almost wasn't going to happen because of the cost of the trip from Goose Bay to Nain and return," Dicker said. "It was through Aboriginal Sport [and] Recreation Circle N.L., thankfully for them that they came through and funded that part of the trip for the girls." In addition to arranging for them to watch a PWHL game, Tinker and an Air Canada representative worked together to create an itinerary full of events to keep the girls busy and having fun. WATCH | Nain girls head to the PWHL playoffs: Nain girls' hockey team flown to PWHL playoffs for unforgettable experience 3 days ago Duration 2:38 It was the opportunity of a lifetime for a girls' hockey team from Newfoundland and Labrador's northernmost community. Nain's Team Nainimiut was flown to Quebec to watch a Professional Women's Hockey League playoff game between the Ottawa Charge and the Montreal Victoire. The CBC's Regan Burden reports. "We got a tour of old Montreal, they went on the ferris wheel, they had a leadership panel at Air Canada's head office and a tour of the airport and baggage claim," Tinker said. "They had an Indigenous community leader Nakuset come and talk to them, and she was a part of the Sixties Scoop and she shared her story about growing up and being adopted and being in Montreal … and trying to find her roots." 'It was just amazing' The highlight of the trip for many of the girls happened before the game even started. The squad was able to head down to the tunnels to fist-bump players of the Montreal Victoire as they made their way onto the ice. Jaycie Kalleo, one of the players with Team Nainimiut, said she never thought they would ever get to go to a game like that. "It was just amazing and it was so incredible just to attend," said Kalleo. The team was treated to seats in a suite, and even got lots of time on the big screens inside the arena. Tinker said all of the girls from Nain lost their voices from screaming and cheering so loud. Raine Andersen, another player on Team Nainimiut, said being selected for the trip made them feel recognized. The Nain team's episode of Breaking Down Barriers is scheduled to air during this year's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30 — something the girls say they are looking forward to watching. "It's going to be like really amazing. My mom is going to be like 'Oh my god, you're on the TV, you're famous,'" said Tessa Dicker. Tinker's goal of inspiring the girls and putting smiles on their faces was certainly a success. After the trip, many of the girls said they're feeling inspired to pursue careers of their own in the PWHL. "If they put their mind to it, if they work hard for it, they can make it as far as they want to go," Julie Dicker said. "We did meet some of the Montreal Victoire players and some of the Ottawa Charge players, and in meeting them some of their players were Indigenous too, like us. And some of them came from small Indigenous communities, like us. So, if the girls really want to pursue anything … it's possible for anybody, [as] long as you work hard, [as] long as you follow your dreams."
Powys County Times
17-05-2025
- General
- Powys County Times
Death notices published in this week's Powys County Times
The County Times published 11 death notices last week. Every week, the County Times publishes death notices and funeral announcements from the families of loved ones who have passed away. As well as appearing in print, our death notice pages will remain online as a lasting tribute to the memory of those we have lost. Anyone who wishes to send their own message of condolence can do so by visiting the deceased's death notice page. Here are the most recent notices placed in the County Times: David Edmund (Dave) POPE Of Bishops Castle. Suddenly on Thursday April 17th 2025 aged 83 years. Read David Edmund (Dave) POPE's full death notice Marion MANFORD Passed away peacefully at home holding Arthur's hand, on April 22nd 2025, aged 78 years. Beloved Wife of Arthur, much loved Mum of Lona and Bethan and a loving Nain. Read Marion MANFORD's full death notice Richard (Colin) PRYCE Formerly of The Green, Trefeglwys passed away peacefully on Wednesday 30th April 2025 aged 86 years. Beloved husband of the late Mary. Read Richard (Colin) PRYCE 's full death notice Ivy Ellen JAMES Formerly of Penybanc, CefnllysSadly passed away on Sunday 13th April 2025 at Wylesfield Care Home, Llandrindod Wells aged 92 years. Beloved wife of the late Tom, She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Read Ivy Ellen JAMES 's full death notice David Francis CUMMINS Passed away peacefully at his home in Chirbury on 13th April 2025. Beloved husband of Heather. Read David Francis CUMMINS's full death notice Dorothy Eileen DAVIES Passed away peacefully at the Victoria Memorial Hospital Welshpool on 19th April 2025, aged 82 years of Castlewright Farm, Churchstoke. Beloved wife of Brian. Margaret Rose SPENCER Passed away peacefully at her home in Cyfronydd on 13th April 2025, aged 66 years. Beloved wife of Richard. Read Margaret Rose SPENCER's full death notice Rees Lewis EVANS Passed away peacefully at his home in Pant on April 24th 2025, aged 89 years. Beloved husband of the late Margaret. Glenys Mair OWEN Passed away peacefully on 24th April 2025, aged 91 years of Moel y Garth, Guilsfield. Beloved wife of the late Reg. Joyce THOMAS née King Of Newbridge-on-Wye, passed away peacefully after a short illness on 28th April 2025. Beloved wife of Mike, much loved mum, grandmother, great-grandmother and mother-in-law and cherished by her family. John Allan HUMPHREYS
CBC
15-05-2025
- Sport
- CBC
Nain girls' hockey team flown to PWHL playoffs for unforgettable experience
It was the opportunity of a lifetime for a girls' hockey team from Newfoundland and Labrador's northernmost community. Nain's Team Nainimiut was flown to Quebec to watch a Professional Women's Hockey League playoff game between the Ottawa Charge and the Montreal Victoire. The CBC's Regan Burden reports.
