Joan Rahbek-Nielsen

On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at the close of her well-lived life, Joan Audrey Rahbek-Nielsen (nee Brookes) passed peacefully into God’s arms.

Joan harmonized perfectly with her husband, Viggo. She was a devoted mother and while raising her own four children she also embraced the role of full-time caregiver to her elderly mother. Born in Red Deer August 9, 1933, Joan was the sixth, youngest, and last surviving child of Winifred and Arnold Brookes.

She will be greatly missed by Viggo, her husband, lover, and best friend of 70 years; her children, Terry (Mads), Leslie, Eric (Sylvia) and Chris (Lynne); her grandchildren, Emma (Ken), Jonas (Tatiana), Samuel, Amalie, Hannah (Cole), and Isla. Joan’s first great grandchild is due to be born this summer on what would have been her 90th birthday.

Joan was a beautiful, compassionate woman. “God has a plan for all of us,” she once told her granddaughter. “He made us exactly the way we were meant to be.”

God’s plan for Joan is complete. She will live on in the hearts of all who knew her and held her dear.

A Memorial Service in Celebration of Joan’s Life was held at St. Leonard's on the Hill Anglican Church in Red Deer on March 11 at 1:00pm. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Red Deer & District SPCA in Joan’s memory.