Our family mourns the loss of Darlene; our dearly loved wife, mother, Baba, sister, aunt and daughter. There are no words to express our grief. Darlene was surrounded by friends and family throughout her final days. We extend thanks and gratitude to the amazing staff at Palliative Care at St. Paul’s Hospital who provided the utmost care and comfort to everyone during this difficult time.
Darlene grew up on the family farm near Prud’homme, where she lived until she completed her high school graduation. Darlene married the love of her life, Gerald “Shack” Benard in 1976. While married, raising her children and working full-time, Darlene completed four years of night classes to obtain her BAC Diploma. She worked for 45 years at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Kinesiology, an accomplishment of which she was quite proud. Darlene loved the outdoors and spent many summers with friends at Memorial Lake, especially enjoying the time spent on their pontoon boat. Darlene loved to travel and this led to many vacations with family and friends to the US, Mexico, Dominican Republic and Jamaica.
Darlene will be remembered for her friendly nature, her infectious smile, her sense of humor and her generosity toward family and friends. She was always ready to help out whenever needed. Her commitment to her family was steadfast and unwavering. Darlene was especially proud of her children and grandchildren, and their love for their mom and Baba was immeasurable.
Darlene is survived by her loving husband of almost 48 years, Gerald, son Kirk (Ashley), son Ryan (Annette), daughter Lindsay (Don), and granddaughters Kaiya, Emilie, Ivy, Hannah and grandson Carter (Chloe). She also leaves to mourn her mother Helen (Sopotyk) MacLeod, sisters Delores Turta and Sherry (Ron) Rawlyk; brothers- and sisters-in-law Germaine, Irene (Ray), Muriel (Byron), Doris, Denis, Lynn (Murray) and their families.
Darlene was predeceased by her father, Peter Sopotyk, father-in-law Albert Benard, mother-in-law Rita (Nobert) Benard and numerous brothers- and sisters-in-law.
We cherished having Darlene in our lives, and we will miss her always.
A Prayer Service will be held on Tuesday, July 2nd at Holy Spirit Parish (114 Kingsmere Place) at 2:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Darlene’s memory to the Palliative Care Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, or the Canadian Cancer Society.
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