Community activist.
Born at Swan River on 19 November 1957 to Vinetta Elizabeth Hogg (1929-2011) and Alexander McDonald “Sandy” Petrie (1912-1974), she was raised in the Kenville area until 1965, when her parents took jobs with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, building 27 grain elevators in numerous communities in Saskatchewan. The family then moved to Thompson in 1970 to pursue employment. There she was active in school activities and became a noted organizer, a trait she maintained throughout her life. She graduated from R. D. Parker Collegiate in 1976 and then worked for two years at the local mine, Inco Limited.
In 1978 she married Dennis Fenske in Victoria, British Columbia, and then lived for a few years in Utrecht, Holland, where her husband had signed a contract to play hockey. In 1981, they moved to Saskatoon so that Dennis could attend the University of Saskatchewan on a hockey scholarship while she worked on campus for the Dean of Vocational Agriculture. In 1986 they moved on to Moosomin, Saskatchewan, where she worked for a bank, for the federal government, and also started the first reading program for young children at the regional library.
Upon a move back to Thompson in 1988, she was employed by the Mystery Lake School District in what was then the Special Needs Department. She progressed up to Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent, maintaining that position until her diagnosis of ALS prevented her from continuing. While living in Thompson, besides caring for her two children, she was committed to community life, being particularly active with the Thompson Festival of the Arts, where she was President for many years.
She died at Thompson on 10 May 2007.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 May 2007.
“Donalda Elizabeth Fenske (born Petrie),” MacDonald/Risma Web Site, My Heritage.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 10 September 2024
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