Jeanet Sybenga was the doted-upon youngest child of Dick and Carol Sybenga. She grew up in a close-knit Dutch immigrant community in Sarnia, Ont.
Jeanet loved Lake Huron and became an accomplished swimmer. Working as a lifeguard for a number of summers, she was sunburned more times than she could remember.
After graduating with a BA from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1982, Jeanet moved west to Saskatchewan to work with kids in an aboriginal school. Only later in life did she realize - with horror - that she had participated in the residential school system.
A job offer took her to Winnipeg in 1985, where she worked at Rossbrook House, a kids' drop-in centre in the North End. For some mysterious reason, Jeanet felt - even as a child - a sense of appreciation and awe for aboriginal ways. She spent the better part of her adult life trying to interpret aboriginal experiences and world views to people in white, doctrinally based Christian communities. It was often stressful for her because, as a No. 9 on the Enneagram, she hated conflict.
One day Jeanet wandered into the faculty of theology at the University of Winnipeg thinking that perhaps she would take a course or two to help her better understand Christianity, the religious path she chose to walk. She ended up graduating with a master of divinity degree in 1999. She then became the executive director of the Indian Family Centre in Winnipeg.
Administration was not her forte, and she especially hated preparing reports, but Jeanet was a steady and loving leader. She hardly ever lost her cool despite the relentless graffiti on the building and busted windows, not to mention broken lives. She worked to make the centre a physically beautiful, humane and hospitable place.
When not working, Jeanet hung out with friends, drank coffee, watched TV, enjoyed campfires and went to the park with her playful and hyper dog, Misk. She relished the great meals provided by her life companion, Dale Missyabit, but every once in a while she would prepare her culinary specialty, nasi goreng. She read - not obtuse books, but books that told stories - Stuart McLean, Richard Wagamese and Kim Edwards were among her favourite writers.
Winnipeg was Jeanet's home for more than two decades, but after she was diagnosed with cancer in February, 2009, she recognized that her roots ran deep within her birth community. Dale flew with her ashes back to Sarnia, where they are now buried above the remains of her dearly beloved mother and father, overlooking the lake that she so enjoyed.
Ellie Stebner is Jeanet's friend.