Community activist.
Born at Winnipeg on 23 November 1910, her family moved to Transcona in 1912 where she lived until 1929 when she married and moved to Dugald. There she became involved in all aspects of community life. She was an active painter and was co-author and illustrator of a history of the Springfield district, published in 1977. Van Slyck was the moving force behind the establishment of the Dugald Costume Museum, which opened in 1983 with herself as President Emeritus and Curator. She was awarded the Margaret McWilliams Medal in 1972 and the gold seal from the Red River Valley Historical Society in 1975.
Her book on the history of the Springfield district won the 1977 Lady Tweedsmuir Trophy. She was a member of the Winnipeg Sketch Club, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba Society of Artists, Manitoba Historical Society, Museum of Man and Nature, Association of Manitoba Museums, Canadian Museum Association, Costume Society of Ontario, Canadian Costume Society of British Columbia, Costume Society of America, and Costume Society of London (England). She received the Altrusa Achievement Award for Community Service (1978), a Certificate of Commendation from the American Association of State and Local History (1980), and an Award of Merit from the Canadian Museums Association. She received a Good Citizenship Award and Distinguished Service Award from the University of Manitoba. She became a member of the Order of Canada in 1985.
She died at Winnipeg, of cancer, on 2 May 1992
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 May 1992, page C37.
Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 18 June 2022
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