Dyck, Neil (Kornelius) (1953-2001)

"Mennonite Brethren Herald" obituary: 2002 May 3 p. 26

Birth date: 1953 Oct 28

text of obituary:

NEIL (KORNELIUS) DYCK

eil (Kornelius) Dyck of Winnipeg passed away Mar. 28, 2001. He was born Oct. 28, 1953 to jacob and Katharina Dyck in Paraguay. The family moved to Win- nipeg when he was 3. They attended First Mennonite Church. He enjoyed playing hock- ey, running cross-coun- try, cross-country ski- ing, camping, outings and family gatherings. He earned a B.A. from the University of Mani- toba in sociology with a minor in religious studies. He was inter- ested in God and the universe, read Tolstoy and books on theology and was intrigued by the search for truth. He had attended cate- chism classes at North Kildonan Mennonite Church. In 1972 he was baptized; the fol- lowing year he read the Bible cover to cover. He slowly withdrew from church, but continued to read the Bible. He took yoga, practised meditation and studied world religions. In 1977 he travelled through the Holy Land and worked on kib- butzim. Back in Win- nipeg, he attended a small Bible study group. Over the next 10 years, he becam e increas ingly involved in church as a Sunday school teacher to chil- dren and adults, coun- cil member and lay speaker. He married Linda Klein in summer 1981 . He took comput- er programming in 1982 and found work in this field. In 1989, he joined MCC, managing a low-income housing project in Kenora, Ont. He learned about na- tive culture, language and religion. Returning to Winnipeg, he worked for Disabled Peoples' International. He took a year off to write, worked in com- puter programming and completed further studies in that field at Red River Community College. He was diag- nosed with a bone marrow disorder in 1997 and had a bone marrow transplant on Oct. 2, 1999. He expe- rienced infections and complications from the surgery. He lost vision in his right eye and had a cataract in his left eye . He loved hiking, canoeing, kayaking, going west to the mountains and spend- ing time with nature. He appreciated the friendship of others and the fellowship at River East MB Church. He is remembered as a good, loving, generous man who cared about the state of the world and humanity. He was intelligent, well-read and a deep thinker. He is mourned by Linda; his parents; 2 sisters and 2 brothers.