Diana Joyce Webster
1952-2018
It is with profound sadness that the family of Diana Webster
announces her death on November 12th,2018 at
the Saint John Regional Hospital. Beloved mother, sister, nana, aunt,
cousin, friend, and a pioneer of the ballet community in her time, she
will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered.
The youngest of three girls (predeceased by her older sister
Pam), Diana was born on September 27, 1952 in Saint John, NB, to Joan
(Logie) Taylor and Frederick Marshall Grant « Jim » Taylor
(both deceased), and spent her early childhood on Princess Street in
Saint John, then Greenwood, Nova Scotia and Edmonton, Alberta before
the family returned to Saint John, where she attended Prince Charles
School and Saint John High School in the heart of her extended
family.
Her lifelong passion for ballet began with lessons given by
her mother Joan, who ran a ballet school in Greenwood. Ultimately,
Diana moved to Ottawa to live with close Thompson relatives and finish
high school while studying advanced ballet. Then she danced with a
junior ballet company before returning to New Brunswick where she
established a School of Dance through Extension Services at the
University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, after which she founded
her own school. She continued doing choreography after she moved to
Saint John, and her passion for ballet was undiminished. Dance was her
vocation, and also her spirit.
Diana is survived by her children Eve Webster (Terence Bay,
NS), Ellen Webster (Hampton, NB), and Eric Webster (Wickham, NB); five
loving grandchildren, Jacob and Isla; Kayla and Sophie; and Madelyn;
her sister Gail Taylor (Ottawa) and nieces Portia Taylor (Ottawa) and
Amy Munnikhuis (Calgary); special beloved cousins, and relatives in
New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Winnipeg; and long loyal
friendships, notably with Connie Barnwell
(Fredericton).
While her health permitted, she was an activist for MS,
advocating for measures of community inclusion for people with
disabilities, from better curbing to subsidy of medications.
Throughout her life, her fervent love of music – classical,
and also the lyrics and melodies of folk, rock, and rhythm and blues
– saw her through. Her sense of humour was acute, and she
loved to laugh. Diana was a true free spirit and her legacy will be
independence, strength, and a capacity for unconditional
love.
Friends and relatives are invited to attend a service of
remembrance and celebration on Saturday, November 17, 2018 from 2-4 pm
at Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111
Paradise Row, Saint John, NB (634-7424). Beginning at 3:30 pm, the
family wishes to give guests an opportunity to speak, and to share
their memories and stories about Diana. Interment will precede the
service that morning at 11:00 am at Fernhill Cemetery. For those who
wish, donations can be made to the MS Society. Online Condolences may
be placed at www.BrenansFH.com
Be now
forever taken from my sight,
Though
nothing can bring back the hour
Of
splendor in the grass, glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind–
William
Wordsworth
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Nos plus sincères sympathies à la famille et aux amis de Diana Joyce Webster 19522018..
Décès pour la Ville: Kennebecasis-Valley, Province: Nouveau-Brunswick
