Anna Everdina deVries

Anna de Vries, 62, of Halifax, passed away on Thursday, December 29, 2022, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Just after a beautiful sunrise illuminated her hospital room, she slipped away quietly in her sleep, with her husband of 38 years, Karl Dilcher, by her side. Anna was the loving mother and mother-in-law of Anton and Maike Dilcher (née Fröhner) of Braunschweig, Germany, and Eric and Klaudia Dilcher (née Gołos) of Warsaw, Poland, and she was the loving "Nana" of Ida and Tolek. She will be sorely missed also by her family in Eastern Ontario: her mother Titia De Vries (née van der Veen), sister Kathryn Vedder (née De Vries) with husband Fred, and brother Duncan De Vries with his wife Karin (née Reusser). She was predeceased in 2020 by her father William De Vries. She also leaves many uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews and nieces in Canada and the Netherlands, and she will be missed by many friends and by Karl's relatives in Germany, including her brother- and sister-in-law Hartmut Dilcher and Karin Jarms. Anna was particularly close to her late mother-in-law in Germany. Anna was born on July 12, 1960, in Bridgewater, NS, but a few weeks later her parents moved with her to Ottawa. She then spent most of her childhood and youth in Eastern Ontario. Two important periods for Anna during that time were three years in Ghana as a school child, and one year in Australia in her mid-teens, while her father taught high school there. Also important in Anna's early life were the regular visits to the Netherlands, where she became fluent in Dutch and learned to understand Frisian. This was the beginning of her lifelong interest in languages, for which she had a particular talent. Anna studied Economics at Queen's University in Kingston, where she met Karl. After both graduated, Anna spent a year in Trier, Germany, studying German and Dutch. She and Karl got married in 1984 and moved to Halifax, where Karl took up a position in Mathematics at Dalhousie University, and Anna continued her studies in Economics. She volunteered with organizations such as Oxfam, and did bookkeeping for some small co-ops. But her main occupation for many years was home schooling Anton and Eric, complete with extracurricular activities. When Eric became a competitive fencer, Anna was his driver, sometimes going as far as Boston or Ottawa, or accompanying him on longer trips by plane. Anna had many interests, which she pursued with passion and hard work, while making life-long friends in the process. In the 1980s she studied Russian at Dalhousie University and spent a total of one year in Moscow, becoming fluent in the language. Karl was able to join her for part of the time. Later she studied Spanish, and made good friends from Spain and Latin America. One serious interest at a time was never enough for Anna, and she always had something else on the go, for instance making music. She learned to play the violin along with Eric, trying very hard to keep up with him. For many years she also played in a small Baroque ensemble. Earlier she took piano lessons, and after her cancer diagnosis she learned to play rock tunes on an electric guitar. She also studied Psychology at Dalhousie for a while, and learned the basics of Polish, as her final foreign language. Of special note was Anna's long-lasting interest and passion for sophisticated modern board games, which her mathematician husband found too difficult. Once again, she made good friends, and converted old friends to becoming board gamers too. She was proud of her ever-growing collection of games and was happy that her sons and daughters-in-law were good and interested players. Sports was also important for Anna during her last years. She first played tennis and badminton; later she found a passion for pickle ball and became very good at it. She made good friends again, and she played until her progressing cancer made it too difficult for her to move. Anna left an impression on everyone she met. One acquaintance remarked, "I won’t forget her liveliness, her unfailing good humour, and her quick and interesting response to anything that was said." Another old friend and classmate remembered Anna helping him and others with difficult courses, writing, "She was so selfless and had a great sense of dry humour". During her last weeks, Anna received excellent and compassionate care by the nurses and doctors in the Palliative Care Unit of the VG Hospital in Halifax. Her family is forever grateful to them for making Anna comfortable and feel at home there. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 7, at 11 am in All Nations Church (2535 Robie Street, Halifax), followed by a reception. Memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.harboursidecremation.ca.

Anna Everdina deVries

July 12, 1960 - December 29, 2022