A past President and an Honorary Life Member of Nature Vancouver, Daphne Solecki, joined Vancouver Natural History Society in 1985. Soon after that she volunteered as Membership Secretary and was a member of Conservation Committee and the Board of Directors for many years. Daphne’s family has written an obituary for her and has given us permission to post it here. Daphne was a respected member of Nature Vancouver and a role model for all of us.

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Daphne Monica Morton Solecki, (nee Butt) born August 8, 1930, founder of NatureKids BC, died August 27th, 2021, in the beautiful home she created, surrounded by loving family. 

After having spent what she called “a boring childhood” in Shanghai during which time she was “shut up” in the confines of the British enclave there, her family’s escape to England during the Second World War marked the beginning of Daphne’s extraordinary life and legacy.

She completed art school in England and began work for the Foreign Office. She met Jan Solecki while both were working for MI6 in post-war Germany. They married, started a family, and held postings in Hong Kong and Switzerland prior to coming to Canada in 1959.

In Vancouver, Daphne put down deep roots, raising her four children and working as a teaching assistant. Students attending East Side Alternative High School and the Adolescent Psychiatric Ward at Vancouver General Hospital during Daphne’s tenure benefitted from her compassionate heart and her innate teaching abilities.

Daphne’s deep sense of connection to the natural world provided her with some of the most magical experiences of her life, both at home in Canada, and during her many trips around the globe. Her strongly held convictions formed the framework upon which she constructed her vision for the community in which she lived and thrived; nor was she afraid to speak up when she felt that community to be in jeopardy.

One of Daphne’s foremost accomplishments as a young mother raising a family on a shoestring budget in her adopted home was the instrumental role she played in the protection and creation of Jericho Park at a time when city council had its eye on the property for a four-lane thoroughfare. Vancouverites and tourists from all over the world still enjoy and cherish the fruits of Daphne’s visionary efforts.

Through her involvement with Nature Vancouver, and the Federation of BC Naturalists, she worked on many projects including the creation of the Nature House at Stanley Park and, most dear to her heart, NatureKids BC, an organization that she founded and nurtured for decades. Through their motto, “To know nature and keep it worth knowing” NatureKids has supported thousands of children and their families in BC to learn about and protect nature.

 Daphne took on the causes she did because she believed in their importance; never seeking personal recognition for her efforts and always ensuring a collaborative team worked together for the success of all her projects.

As she had wished, Daphne died at home, comforted by her children and grandchildren. She experienced little pain due to excellent palliative care. 

Predeceased by her brother Anthony, she is survived by her sons Jon (Cya) and Tony (Maureen), her daughters Louise (Greg) and Susanna (Dave), grandchildren Matt, Chris, Owen, Lauren, Ian, Kate, Ben, Daniel, David and Rosie and great-grandchildren, Darci and Liam, her siblings Roni (Brian) and Charles (Fay), foster daughter Kimberley, and numerous other relations and friends.  She was a good person, a wonderful mother, a loving grandmother, great grandmother, mother-in-law, and mentor to all who had the good fortune to be part of her life.

A memorial will be held for Daphne March 2022. For more information, please contact rememberingdaphnesolecki@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in her honour can be made to NatureKids BC. https://www.naturekidsbc.ca