The gift of song

Phyllis Dana faced a choice: leave Winnipeg to study opera at a prestigious Philadelphia school, or marry the man she loved.

She chose the latter.

Now, her Juno-winning granddaughter cherishes a Happy Birthday voicemail sung by Phyllis. Three generations of Dana women — Phyllis, her daughter, and granddaughter — would sing in Winnipeg’s prominent Jewish spaces. Hundreds of Manitobans know the matriarch as their kindergarten teacher.

“My mom said, ‘A sheet of music won’t keep you warm at night,’” Karen Dana recalled.

A mother, grandmother and kindergarten teacher, Dana was a lifelong lover of music. (Supplied)

Phyllis died peacefully in her sleep on May 17, her family said. She was 89 years old.

Read more about Phyllis in our Passages feature here.

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How They Lived

Read about the lives of great Winnipeggers and Manitobans on our Passages website.

Until next week, may you continue to write your own life’s story.

Sunday Passages