Diane Joan Mackedenski

It is with deep sadness we mourn the sudden passing of a daughter, sister, niece, aunt, great-aunt, godmother, and friend, Diane Mackedenski.

Diane Joan Mackedenski was born on June 3, 1954 at the Shoal Lake & District Hospital to Alec and Eleanor Mackedenski and older brother, Leonard. Diane grew up on the Mackedenski family farm south of Vista. She attended Islay School in Vista and finished grade 8 in 1967, which was the last year the Islay School in Vista was open, before continuing her schooling in Rossburn.

While growing up on the farm, one childhood story that Diane liked to recall was when she was 9 years old, her parents took her to Brandon to buy her an accordion. She was allowed to pick the one she wanted and chose a special one that was shimmering with gold and white! Diane remembered nervously having to play at one concert at the Oakburn Community Hall, but that was the start and the end of Diane’s stage career! She only played the accordion for about 3 years and decided to end things on a high note! Her grade 9 – 12 was completed at the Rossburn Collegiate with many lunch hours spent with her cousin, Janette Huston (Mackedenski) uptown at the Dew Drop Inn. Diane graduated from the Rossburn Collegiate in June 1972. Following her high school graduation, Diane took some Business Administration courses in Winnipeg before deciding to move back home to the farm at Vista to help her Mom, Eleanor.

In 1973 Diane got a job at the Royal Bank in Russell. In 1977 Diane was offered a job at the Toronto Dominion Bank in Rossburn and worked there for 24 years until the branch closed in 2001. After the TD Bank closed in Rossburn, Diane took a few years off and then worked for one year in 2005 at the Shoal Lake Bakery. She then took a bookkeeping job in Rossburn for Lorne Lawless at L& M Services in 2006. She continued to work there loyally for 20 years and was still working there up until this past winter. No matter what job Diane had, she was always dedicated. Diane enjoyed being in town and seeing people everyday. She was such a social person and was always smiling. Everyone knew her and she took time to speak with everyone and share a story or tell a joke. She was a pleasant and kind person and everyone enjoyed visiting with her immensely.

Diane managed to do some traveling over the years. She visited North and South Dakota, and she went out west to Lethbridge, Calgary, Banff, Lake Louise, Osoyoos, Vancouver, and Victoria. Longer trips included flying to Hawaii, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Windsor, ON, and Mesa, Arizona.

Diane lived on the Mackedenski family farm for almost her entire life right up until her passing. She spent the majority of those years living on the farm with her Mom, Eleanor. Diane always said that even though she went home to look after her Mom, it was Eleanor who actually looked after Diane! The two of them valued routines and traditions, which Diane carried on even after Eleanor’s passing while she took on the responsibility of maintaining the Mackedenski homestead. Diane was always very thankful and cherished all the good memories she had as a child and as an adult on the family farm. Diane volunteered her time for several years with the Rossburn Agricultural Society. She was also a member of the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Oakburn and volunteered alongside Eleanor with the ladies league at the church too.

With her Mom, the two of them enjoyed playing cards, going to Rossman Lake to stay at the trailer in the summer, curling, dressing up in costumes at Halloween, hosting Christmas Eve family dinners (which Diane carried on the tradition at the farm even after her Mom’s passing), looking after the dogs on the farm, watching curling and game shows on TV, going to bingo, picking mushrooms in the bush, keeping a large garden and dilling cucumbers and beans and lettuce, and visiting the gaming centre from time to time too!

Diane loved family. She helped organize the Kaskiw family reunion in 2013 and also the Mackedenski 100 Year Century Farm Celebration in 2016. It was a homecoming for family members who Diane and Eleanor were excited to welcome back to the farm! Diane was the true connection between all of the Mackedenski and Kaskiw family members and kept the Vista connection going. With Diane not using emails, text messages, or social media, she purposely made a point to phone everyone in the family throughout the year to keep in touch. With Diane not having a family of her own, she felt her extended family was so important.

Diane suffered the loss of family members over the years. In addition to the passing of aunts and uncles, Diane’s father, Alec, died of a massive heart attack in 1972 when Diane was just 18 years old. Her niece and goddaughter, Luanna, passed away at the age of 7 in 1979. Her brother, Leonard, died of cancer at the age of 61 in 2010. And her mother, Eleanor, passed away in 2019 at the age of 98.

Over the years, Diane was a bridesmaid for several friends and family members including her sister-in-law, Ollie Mackedenski, Debbie Baker (Taylor), Mary-Ann Drul, and was maid of honour for her cousin, Janette Huston. Diane never married and though she may have technically never been a mother, she was much more than just an aunt. She was like a second mother to all of the Mackedenski boys.

Diane will be greatly missed by her 3 nephews, Leonard and Ollie’s boys: Ashley, Manley, and Dean. Playing cards at the farm and having Diane’s homemade pizza buns will always be a special memory for Dean and his partner, Cory. Ashley and Manley will miss seeing Diane every day at the farm and having her help them whenever she could. The farm will not be the same without Diane there. She will also be missed by her great-nephews. Diane took a genuine interest in Ashley and Sandra’s boys: Hayden, Grady, and Colton. Diane absolutely loved going to watch their baseball and hockey games. She was so happy when the boys would stop in at the farm and sit down to visit with her. And Diane was completely overjoyed with the latest Mackedenski boy in the family, Manley and Sara’s son, Andrew. When he was born, Andrew was taken to the farm for Diane to meet him first! It was always a highlight for Diane to have Andrew at the farm and watching him run around the living room, play with toys, and laugh.

But Diane’s best friend was her sister-in-law, Ollie Mackedenski. In addition to being co-workers at the TD Bank for years, they always had a special connection. They celebrated family milestones and holidays together, went to the boys’ hockey and baseball games together, and called each other multiple times a day. Diane was a trusted and treasured friend to Ollie.

For the majority of her life, Diane experienced good health. In December 2025, Diane slipped and fell on some ice at the farm and broke both of her wrists. But this didn’t get down and she kept in good spirits. With the help of home care, she tried her best to do as much as she could and was still able to celebrate Christmas. However, after experiencing some additional symptoms at home, she was taken to the Russell & District Health Centre on January 21 where she was diagnosed with an infection. Unfortunately, after clearing this infection, they found Diane to have multiple spots of cancer and she sadly did not have the strength to fight. Diane peacefully took her last breath and passed away on the afternoon of Sunday, February 8, 2026. Since family was always so important to Diane, she finally got to be reunited with her late Dad Alec, Mom Eleanor, and brother Leonard. The four of them are together again at last.

Funeral service was held at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Ukrainian Catholic Church in Rossburn on Monday, February 16, 2026 with Fr. Jay Korban officiating. Pallbearers were: Ashley, Manley, Dean, Hayden, and Grady Mackedenski, along with Lorne Lawless. Crossbearer was Colton Mackedenski. Interment will be held at the Oakburn Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church Cemetery. Rae’s Funeral Service was in care of arrangements. Donations may be made to the Oakburn Holy Eucharist Church Building Fund.

Our family would like to express our sincere appreciation for all the kindness and support we have received. Thank you to the compassionate staff at the Russell & District Health Centre for all the care and comfort they provided to Diane. Thank you to all those who visited Diane during her short stay in the hospital and for the phone calls to check on her. Thank you to Fr. Jay Korban for all his kind words, N&L Restaurant for their lunch catering and for all those who brought cakes, and the staff of Rae’s Funeral Home for all their help and assistance. Thank you to the pallbearers and crossbearer and all those who attended the funeral. During this difficult time, the phone calls, words of sympathy, visits, cards, flowers, and food have been very thoughtful. We have been truly touched by all these tributes.

Diane will be remembered for her happiness, kind and gentle spirit, and the smile she always had on her face. Even though she was taken away from us too soon, take the time to rest Diane. We love and miss you so much.