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RSS Feeds2008 Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother
Mrs. Avril Dianna Stachnik
Mrs. Avril Dianna Stachnik of Waskatenau (pronounced Wah-set-ten-ah) Alberta, has been selected by The Royal Canadian Legion as the 2008 Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. She will serve in this position until the end of October 2009. She is the mother of the late army Sergeant Shane Hank Stachnik, also of Waskatenau. Sergeant Stachnik was killed in Afghanistan 3 September, 2006, while taking part in Operation MEDUSA.
Sgt. Stachnik was killed in an ambush while leading his section during a ground offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. Beside his parents, Avril and Hank, he left behind his common-law spouse Darcy Mitton, two step children, Elliot and Samantha, aged 10 and 12, and a sister, Deanna Yent. He was engaged to be married to Ms. Mitton on his return from Afghanistan. He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed.
Mrs. Stachnik will lay a wreath at the National War Memorial during the annual 11 November National Remembrance Day Ceremony on behalf of all Canadian mothers who have lost sons or daughters in the military or Merchant Navy services of the nation. The ceremony is organized and conducted by the Legion on behalf of the Government of Canada and in memory of all Canadians who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of freedom and peace.
This year's ceremony will also commemorate the 90th anniversary of the end World War 1 and will include a "Passing the Torch" ritual which will see the Torch of Remembrance passed from a Second World War veteran, to a Korean War veteran, then to a Peacekeeping veteran and finally to a veteran of the War in Afghanistan.
Biography
Mrs. Avril Dianna Stachnik of Waskatenau (pronounced Wah-set-ten-ah), Alberta, is originally from Edmonton, which is 100 miles to the northwest. She attended Jasper Place Composite High School in Edmonton. She is the mother of the late Sergeant Shane Hank Stachnik who was killed in Afghanistan on 3 September 2006 while serving with the Canadian Forces as a military engineer.
Mrs. Stachnik has been married to Hank Stachnik of Waskatenau since 1971 and they have had two children, the late Sgt. Stachnik and his younger sister Deanna who is married to Ben Yent. Mrs. Stachnik is currently employed in the bakery business.
Sergeant Shane Hank Stachnik
Deceased 3 September 2006
Sergeant Shane Hank Stachnik was killed in Afghanistan on 3 September, 2006, while serving with the Canadian Forces as a combat military engineer. He was originally from Waskatenau (pronounced Wah-set-ten-ah), Alberta and was serving with the Canadian Forces in 2 Combat Engineer Regiment based at CFB Petawawa when he was killed in an ambush while leading his section.
Sgt. Stachnik was killed during Operation Medusa, a ground offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. He left behind his common-law spouse Darcy Mitton, two step children, Elliot and Samantha, aged 10 and 12 and his sister Deanna Yent. He was engaged to be married to Ms. Mitton on his return from Afghanistan.
He joined the CF in 1995 as a combat military engineer, was a veteran of two tours in Bosnia and had worked with the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) in Sri Lanka during the tsunami there. He also assisted with the Winnipeg flood relief in 1997. He was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed.
Silver Cross Mother
| Year | Name | Address |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Mrs. Avril Dianna Stachnik | Waskatenau, Alberta |
| 2007 | Mrs. Wilhelmina Beerenfenger-Koehler | Embrun, Ontario |
| 2006 | Mrs. Alice Murphy | Conception Harbour, Newfoundland |
| 2005 | Mrs. Claire Léger | Stittsville, Ontario |
| 2004 | Mrs. Agatha Dyer | Montreal, Québec |
| 2003 | Mrs. Charlotte Lynn Smith | Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia |
| 2002 | Mrs. Doreen Coolen | Hubbards, Nova Scotia |
| 2001 | Mrs. Ina Galvin | Bolton centre, Québec |
| 2000 | Mrs. Carol Isfeld | Courtenay, British Columbia |
| 1999 | Mrs. Loyola Helen Park | London, Ontario |
| 1998 | Mrs. Anna Zuk (Prygroski) | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| 1997 | Mrs. Alice Taylor | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 1996 | Mrs. Margaret Langille | River John, Nova Scotia |
| 1995 | Mrs. Elsie Wells | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 1994 | Mrs. W. Baerr | Yorkton, Saskatchewan |
| 1993 | Mrs. Isabella Hutchings | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| 1992 | Mrs. Ida Orser | New Brunswick (Hartland) |
| 1991 | Mrs. Alice Taylor | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 1990 | Mrs. Elsie Pearce | Trenton, Ontario |
| 1989 | Mrs. Rachel Morin | Rimouski, Quebec |
| 1988 | Mrs. Hazel Driscoll | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| 1987 | Mrs. Secondina Di Persio | Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia |
| 1986 | Mrs. Mabel Bateman | Richmond Hill, Ontario |
| 1985 | Mrs. Rose Bernst | Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| 1984 | Mrs. Olive Hunter | Summerland, British Columbia |
| 1983 | Mrs. Constance Wylie | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 1982 | Mrs. John E. Fraser | Debert, Nova Scotia |
| 1981 | Mrs. Isabel Harrison | Bury, Quebec |
| 1980 | Mrs. Greta Steeves | Elgin, Albert County, New Brunswick |
| 1979 | Mrs. Eliza Beatty | Carlyle, Saskatchewan |
| 1978 | Mrs. J. Cantley | Montreal, Quebec |
| 1977 | Mrs. Mary Little | Welland, Ontario |
| 1976 | Mrs. Olive Jubb | Victoria, British Columbia |
| 1975 | Mrs. C.L. (Alta.) Wilkinson | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 1974 | Mrs. Thomas Rudd | Stettler, Alberta |
| 1973 | Mrs. Margaret Santo | Kipling, Saskatchewan |
| 1972 | Mrs. Mary Louise McLeod | Wiarton, Ontario |
| 1971 | Mrs. Mary Anderson | Selkirk, Manitoba |
| 1970 | Mrs. Lloyd R. Meech | North Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| 1969 | Mrs. Wilhemina Grey | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 1968 | Mrs. Pearl Rich | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 1967 | Mrs. Elsie Adams | St. Catharines, Ontario |
| 1966 | Mrs. George Stephens | Toronto, Ontario |
| 1965 | Mrs. Nora Wagner | Teetersville, Ontario |
| 1964 | Mrs. Bernadette Rivait | Windsor, Ontario |
| 1963 | Mrs. Mary E. Stodgell | Norwood, Manitoba |
| 1962 | Mrs. V. Lanteigne | Caraquet, New Brunswick |
| 1961 | Mrs. Sylvia Kimmel | Mission City, British Columbia |
| 1960 | Mrs. A.J. Cantin | McCreary, Manitoba |
| 1959 | Mrs. W.B. Anderson | Craigmyle, Alberta |
| 1958 | Mrs. Helen Forrestell | Coniston, Ontario |
| 1957 | Mrs. Z. MacFarlane | Truro, Nova Scotia |
| 1956 | Mrs. A.J. Reynolds | Chatham, Ontario |
| 1955 | Mrs. Leboldus | Vibank, Saskatchewan |
| 1952 | Mrs. Dan McCann | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 1950 | Mrs. John Beasley | Ottawa, Ontario |
