Esther Braden, C.M.

August 13, 1923 - February 18, 2016

Our cherished and loving mother and grandmother passed peacefully, with family at her side, on Thursday February
18 at Stanton Territorial Hospital in Yellowknife. Esther succumbed with great grace and calm after an extended
struggle with a chronic lung disease, at the age of 92.
We are deeply saddened, yet we have so much to be profoundly proud of. Esther was a committed community
builder, a fearless and passionate advocate for seniors and the disadvantaged across the NWT and Nunavut.
From her volunteerism as the organist at Holy Trinity Anglican Church for almost 50 years, to offering her gift of
music to seniors and shut-ins, to founding, leading and advocating for IODE Canada, Alison McAteer House, the
YWCA, the Yellowknife and the NWT seniors societies, elder abuse, and hard-of-hearing, she leaves a remarkable
legacy of caring and compassion. Esther was widely lauded for her dedication, including being invested as a
Member of the Order of Canada (C.M.) in 2006.
The youngest of a pioneering farming family of 10, Mom and our late father Bill raised five children, all born in
Rosthern, Saskatchewan. We moved to Yellowknife in 1964 and never looked back.
She was our anchor, our teacher, our compass and our inspiration. She lead us through our own generation and then
that of her grandchildren, with a wise, often funny, sometimes fierce, and always loving hand and heart.
Mom is survived by four children and eight grandchildren: her eldest daughter Sandy Dehnke (Tony and Jaime);
sons Bill and wife Valery (Rae and Carmen); Max and wife Kate (Seamus and Kelda); Pat and wife Laurie (Jazzan
and Elora); and daughter-in-law Lise Beaudry-Braden. She was predeceased by her husband Bill (1994), son-in-law
Wayne Dehnke (2014) and eldest son George (2015).
In lieu of flowers, and in the spirit of Esther's dedication, we ask that friends consider volunteering your time and
energy for any cause that you find important. We are planning a private funeral service and public celebration,
details to be announced in the near future. Your condolences and remembrances of Esther are most welcome:
Sandy Dehnke
sdehnke@me.com
604 793 5052

Pat Braden
bradenpat@gmail.com

Bill Braden
nwtbraden@yahoo.com
867 445 8953

Max Braden
mbraden@theedge.ca

With kind permission from Northern News Services and Yellowknifer, we are attaching the story published in 2013
on the occasion of Mom's 90th birthday.

Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Friday, August 2, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Almost every Monday morning, volunteer Esther Braden, 89, sits at the keyboard at Aven Manor
longterm seniors' care home or Aven Cottages territorial dementia facility to enliven her
audience with familiar music.

Esther Braden, 89, will be the guest of honour

at her 90th birthday party from 2 to 5 p.m. on
Monday at the Baker Centre. The public open
house is being organized by the Yellowknife
Seniors' Society. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo
The weekly routine, which she shares alongside vocalist Dawn Lacey, reflects Braden's decadeslong commitment to improving the quality of life for Yellowknife seniors.
This coming Monday, however, many of the seniors who enjoy Braden's weekly performances
have the opportunity to help her celebrate her 90th birthday at the Baker Centre.
The Braden family is inviting residents of all ages to join them as they celebrate the milestone
birthday from 2 until 5 p.m.
"My family will be there and it will be open to any of my friends or all the folks in Yellowknife
that are interested in coming," Braden said.
Braden is well-known in Yellowknife for many accomplishments since moving North from
Saskatchewan in 1964. She worked for the Geological Survey of Canada, co-founded the

Nahanni chapter of IODE Canada, a national women's charitable organization; lobbied the
GNWT for healthcare for seniors aged 60 and up; helped found Alison McAteer House in 1986
and served as president of the YWCA. She has also raised awareness through her work with the
Canadian Hard of Hearing Association and as a board member of the Canadian Network for the
Prevention of Elder Abuse, and is a former organist with the Holy Trinity Anglican Church.
Braden has been an active member of the Yellowknife Seniors' Society since it formed in 1992.
"We really appreciate and admire her for the work that she has done," said Yellowknife Seniors'
Society president Maureen Hall. "She fights for the rights of the seniors - trying to get more
housing, because we need it desperately. She's in there doing what she can. She's behind the
scenes and she's done a lot of work. She's done a fabulous job."
Braden earned national praise for her commitment to women and seniors in 2006 when she was
made a member of the Order of Canada. However, for Braden, one of her most rewarding
experiences is seeing seniors respond with enthusiasm during her musical visits to Aven Manor
and Aven Cottages with Lacey. Braden and the late Theresa Crane performed for seniors together
for almost 30 years. Lacey joined them 15 years ago.
"When we first start at 10:30 a.m. a lot of the residents are perhaps not too wide awake and as
the morning goes along they become very animated," Braden said. "It is a wonderful thing,
really. Sometimes an hour is not enough. Dawn and I look forward to it. It's good for us and it's
certainly good for the residents."
Braden does her best to select music they know, including standards such as You are my
Sunshine and Home on the Range, in an effort to inspire pleasant memories in her audience.
"Sometimes, music is among the last things certain parts of the brain can recall. It's a wonderful
thing, really, what can be done for people to revive their memory and stimulate them. It's just a
wonderful therapy. I don't pretend to be an expert in this kind of thing, but I certainly have the
experience to see what reaction and change can happen to people that are, sometimes you think,
well-advanced in dementia and what wonderful things they can recall and what it does for them."
In addition to the pleasant music, it is Braden's warm approach that appeals to the Aven
residents, Lacey said, adding Braden takes time to greet each member of her audience personally.
"Above all, the main thing that Esther has that's also key is her sensitivity to people and respect.
She has been an incredible role model just in her way of speaking with people - always looking
for what their needs are - always making people's lives better through music. It really is music
therapy. Esther is always looking for the latest research, but she does that intuitively," she said.
Braden is all set to make her 90th birthday wish on Monday, she said, pointing out the need for a
$33-million expansion of AVENS' senior housing complex.
"My biggest wish is that there would be full and generous support from all levels of government
and all the people of Yellowknife and the NWT to see this facility built here in the next few
years," she said.
Family members attending Monday's party include Esther's son Pat Braden and his wife Laurie
Nowakowski of Yellowknife and granddaughters Jazzan and Elora of B.C., son Bill Braden and
wife Val Braden and granddaughters Carmen and Rae of Yellowknife, daughter Sandy Dehnke
and granddaughters Tony and Jaime of B.C., son Max Braden and his wife Kate Braden and
grandchildren Seamus and Kelda of B.C., and son George Braden of Ottawa. Esther's late
husband Bill Braden died in 1991.
++++++++++++++