Diane Agnes Zilkie

The family of Diane Zilkie wish to announce her passing at the age of 71. She is survived by her loving family; son, Shawn (Robyn) Lewis and grandchildren Xavier, Nolan and Mira; son, Dean (Kathleen) Lewis and grandchildren Evan, Megan and Cassie; daughter, Jody (Mike) and grandchildren Daria, Marlea, Zoey and Bailey.

Diane will also be missed by her siblings; sister, Donna (Alan) Stockman; her brothers, Dan (Nora) Zilkie and Dave (Jackie) Zilkie along with numerous nieces, nephews and extended families. She is predeceased by her parents, Roy and Mae Zilkie.

Diane was born in Maple Creek, SK to Roy and Mae Zilkie. For her first twelve years of life, summers were spent on the farm, and when winter approached, the family moved into town to Consul. In the fall of 1966, the Zilkie family moved to the (new) family farm; Diane always felt lucky that she got to live a farm life AND a town life! Moving every spring and fall initiated the nomad spirit in her. During her adult life, Diane was well known to not stay too long in one spot as she frequently moved, living in many towns in Southern Saskatchewan and Alberta.

In 1984, Diane and her children moved to the Medicine Hat area where she continued to move around with at least 10 moves between Redcliff and Medicine Hat over the years. She found work in the Medicine Hat Regional Hospital working for many years as a Unit Clerk, except for the three years when she and her sister Donna started their D&D Catering business. Upon selling the business, Diane returned to the hospital working another 20 years in the Dialysis Unit before retiring in 2022. Diane was always a people pleaser, she loved her work and the great people she worked with.

In the summer, camping was her thing to do, but she also loved to travel to many places including Las Vegas, Hawaii, the Dominican, Jamaica, Arizona, a road trip to the Black Hills with Donna, Norway, Ireland, Disneyworld, Barbados, cruises to Mexico, the Caribbean, and Alaska, as well as numerous road trips in Western Canada. Thank you to Denise Helland for being her travelling companion for all those years.

The family would love for Diane to be remembered for the fantastic person she was, her ability to instantly make others feel welcome, and most importantly as a woman who sacrificed and worked exceptionally hard to provide the very best life for her children and grandchildren. She will be missed dearly but would want everyone to continue to “Live, Love, Laugh”.

In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society at cancer.ca/en/ways-to-give/personal-donation or Carmel Hospice at chpca.ca/donate/.

A celebration in honour of Diane will be held in the Fireside Room at the Medicine Hat Cypress Centre on Thursday, April 4th at 2PM.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Diane Agnes Zilkie, please visit our floral store.