DIANE LORRAINE PEDEN

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

DIANE LORRAINE PEDEN

(nee DALE)

February 22, 1942 - November 13, 2024

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Diane Peden on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at the age of 82, after a short but courageous struggle with cancer. She passed peacefully, and surrounded by her family.

She is predeceased by her parents, Frank and Leone Dale, and her husband of fifty years, Robert Peden.

Diane was born to Frank and Leone Dale in St. Lazare on February 22, 1942. Her early years were spent on the family farm. She attended Ellice School, and later was educated at the school in St. Lazare. Diane spent her summers on the farm, where she and her sister Joan enjoyed spending time with their Bourbonnais and Dale cousins. She graduated from St. Lazare School in June of 1959.

After graduation, Diane moved to Winnipeg, where she lived with her grandmother Annonciade Bourbonnais, while she obtained a general arts degree from the University of Manitoba. She then obtained her teaching certificate in June of 1963, and spent 8 years working as a French teacher in Seven Oaks School division.

Diane met her future husband Bob while living on Polson Avenue, through bowling with the 939er's, a group who became their lifelong friends. After marrying in June of 1971, Diane left teaching, preferring instead the role of stay-at-home mom for her children, Kevin and Jennifer. She often volunteered at Robert Browning School in the library, and was always deeply involved in her children's education.

Diane was by no means an athlete, but she loved curling and 5-pin bowling. While the kids were still in school, she would curl twice a week at Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in the ladies league, until her knees no longer allowed it. However, she loved watching curling on television, and always attended any of the big championships when they were held in Winnipeg. For many years, she also helped Bob run the YBC youth bowling program at Village Inn Lanes, giving up her Saturday mornings to help encourage the love of the sport.

One of Diane’s great loves was baking, especially Christmas baking. Every year, she would promise that she was going to cut back on the number of dainties produced for the holiday season, only to add new recipes to her traditional favorites. A tray of her dainties became a staple at every family Peden family Christmas party, and containers stacked to the brim with her tasty creations were often given away as Christmas presents. In addition, Diane was known for her legendary Christmas and Easter meals, which were looked forward to by the whole family. It could not be said that anyone ever went hungry at a meal Diane was involved with preparing.

Diane had a highly creative side. Her "designer" Christmas trees, whose different themes she would rotate through every year, were the envy of all who saw them. In addition, she dabbled in macrame, needlepoint, knitting, and many other arts and crafts. She was also an excellent seamstress, and was on speed dial for anyone who might need a dress hemmed or a pair of pants fixed. In her later years, she could often be found sitting in her chair, knitting baby clothes for the church while watching her game shows, or Jets or Bombers games.

Another of Diane’s great loves was gardening. Every year, she would spend hours preparing her flower beds at home and the cabin with her pansies, petunias and geraniums, then spend hours watering and dead-heading her bouquets, while trying to keep the local wildlife from eating all her flowers.

Diane also loved spending time at the family cottage at Twin Lakes Beach. She enjoyed the beach life during the summers when the kids were young, and visiting with many Bourbonnais family members, who all had cottages nearby. As the kids grew older, Bob and Diane would spend most of their time from April to October at the beach, feeding the birds, and toasting cinnamon buns around the chiminea at night. Mom also loved doing jigsaw puzzles at the lake. You knew it was spring when the hunt for new jigsaw puzzles at local garage sales and thrift stores began.

After Bob's retirement, Bob and Diane spent several enjoyable years wintering in Mesa, AZ - Diane doing her puzzles and shopping, while Bob golfed and played cards with his friends. They loved attending the weekly block parties, and made several cherished friends during these years.

Diane was a kind, loving, gentle soul, who spent her time caring more about others than herself. Her quiet strength held the family together during Bob's early battles with cancer, as well as during cancer battles for both of them in their later years. She will be greatly missed by her family, as well as by anyone whose life she had touched.

Diane is survived by her beloved sister, Joan Dale, "adopted" sister Linda Armbruster, and her children, Kevin and Jennifer (Devin Yawching).

The family would like to thank Dr. Trevor Lee and Dr. Gloria Vazquez-Grande, and all the staff at the 4th Floor South and ICU units at Grace Hospital. Thanks also to Diane’s family doctor, Dr. Paul Lu.

A Roman Catholic funerary mass will be celebrated at St. John XXIII church, 3390 Portage Avenue, at 1:00 pm on Thursday, November 21. Interment will take place after the service in a private family ceremony. Diane's family and friends are invited to share stories at a reception after the mass.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made in Diane's memory to CancerCare Manitoba, the parish of St. John XXIII, or a charitable organization of your choice.

Make a donation to

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 19, 2024, Nov 19, 2024