Diane Jessie Murray Barker

Diane was the adoring and beloved mother of Roberta Barker and mother-in-law of David Nicol of Halifax, loving sister of Lynn Murray of Moncton, and dear friend for over 60 years of Aileen Lewis (Ron) of Mahone Bay. She was predeceased by her parents, Freda Jacqueline and Hector Fraser Murray.

Diane was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, and grew up in Campbellton, New Brunswick. She attended Mount Allison University, where she earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees (both awarded in 1965). After beginning her teaching career in New Brunswick, she moved to Halifax to undertake graduate studies in History at Dalhousie University, and then to Toronto to take up a position on the staff at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. While working at the DCB she had many cross-country scholarly adventures, and—just as she had at Mount A and Dalhousie—formed many lifelong friendships.

In the 1980s, Diane returned to the teaching profession. First at Ian Bazalgette School and then at Elboya School in Calgary, Alberta, she was a dedicated and beloved teacher of Language Arts. She had tremendous respect and patience for young people, and took great pride in encouraging them to reach their full potential through her high standards, engaging teaching style, and irreverent sense of humour. She earned a Master of Education degree from the University of Calgary in 1986. In 1993, Diane took up the position of Principal of Marshview Middle School in Sackville, New Brunswick, which she held until her retirement in 2007. During her fifteen years at Marshview, she had—as she had had in Calgary as both a teacher and a leader of professional development initiatives for colleagues—a hugely positive impact, and was a highly committed and respected member of the Sackville community.

Diane’s commitment, integrity, and force of personality are well expressed by a short reflection on her own life that she wrote in her final weeks. In her own words, she “was grateful to come of age when women were able to be independent professionals who could face the patriarchy head-on, was thankful to the activists and political leaders who legislated Medical Assistance in Dying, and wished to sincerely apologize for the hideous wrongs perpetrated by her ancestors and her own generation against the Indigenous peoples of Canada.” She was a feminist, a believer in social justice, an advocate of freedom of conscience, and an opponent of all forms of oppression. Generous, witty, curious, and fiercely independent, she loved reading, knitting, baking, single malt whiskey, soccer, theatre, her corgis, and travel. Among her favourite destinations were London, Amsterdam, and the Highlands of Scotland.

By Diane’s request, there will be no funeral. Donations in her memory may be made to the Molly Appeal (Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation), Zuppa Theatre (Halifax), or a locally-based charity of your choice within your own community.