Leah Dhanmatie (Sieukaran Dass) Forde

With great sadness and a profound sense of disbelief, we mourn the loss of Leah Dhanmatie Forde (née Leah Dhanmatie Sieukaran Dass), who passed away on May 15, 2026 at the Royal Oak Village retirement community in Lacombe, aged 82. Leah’s death comes just a few short months after the loss of her husband Winston Forde on December 27, 2025.

Leah was born in Dinsley Land, Trinidad on November 29, 1943, the seventh of fourteen siblings. She was a bold, self-assured young lady, with a strict, “in-charge” kind of personality, who her younger siblings recall as being motherly, kind, and driven by a strong moral compass. Even in her youth, Leah’s volunteerism with a local Presbyterian school and church reflected her caring and community-minded attitude.

Leah immigrated to the United Kingdom in 1966 to attend nursing college. It was during her time at St. Francis Hospital and College of Nursing (Haywards Heath, Sussex) that she also forged many deep and lasting friendships, meeting her future husband Winston in the process. On September 22, 1973, Leah and Winston married and subsequently immigrated to Ponoka, Alberta, Canada in May 1975 to continue their careers in nursing and health care.

As a loving mother of two, who also held a full-time psychiatric nursing position, Leah was a devoted caregiver and an energetic, motivated professional, confident in her abilities and constantly in motion. In between working and raising a family, she still found time for volunteerism in her wider community. Leah was a longtime member of the Ponoka United Church congregation and the United Church Women’s (UCW) committee. In addition to her regular weekly attendance of Sunday worship, Leah also attended UCW meetings, contributed to World Day of Prayer services, participated in the Walk of The Cross, and served or prepared food for church functions and the United Church Food Booth.

Her various community activities did not preclude opportunities for travel with her husband and children. Family vacations in Canada often took the form of multi-day car trips into the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, and the Alberta Badlands, while international destinations included Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom. Leah’s more adventurous journeys (solo and with friends) even saw her heading to Egypt in 2002, New Orleans in 2014, and Bali in 2017.

Following a lengthy career at Alberta Hospital Ponoka (now The Centennial Centre for Mental Health and Brain Injury), Leah retired in 2004 but continued working part-time for a number of years. She volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ponoka (via the Ponoka Youth Centre), and became an in-school mentor through the same organization, sharing her warmth and a wealth of life experience with youngsters in need of additional support.

Leah and Winston purchased an RV in 2004, and their land travels took them across much of Canada, including as far East as Prince Edward Island and North to the Arctic Circle. They also took cruises to Alaska, the Panama Canal, and Polynesia, and revisited the United Kingdom and the West Indies on different occasions. In more recent years, RVing and international travel became less common in favour of smaller trips to and from Saskatchewan and British Columbia to spend time with close friends and their children Tanya and Jason.

Leah suffered a serious fall in September 2025 that resulted in a lengthy hospitalization. After Winston’s passing in December 2025, Leah struggled to adapt to the loss of her husband, the loss of her independence, and the need for ongoing care.

Leah will be dearly missed by her children Tanya Forde and Jason Forde; surviving siblings Ruth, Sandra, Vishnu, and Pamela; her many nieces and nephews in Canada, Trinidad, and the United Kingdom; and a multitude of beloved, lifelong friends who cherish the time Leah was in their lives. She left us all too soon.

Leah was predeceased by her father Sieukaran Dass; mother Moonie Dass; brothers Ramdhan, Hitler, George, and Narine; and sisters Doui, Gang, Chano, Susan, and Pramattie.

A Funeral Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wedesnday, June 3, 2026 at Ponoka Funeral Home. 

Memorial donations in Leah’s memory are gratefully accepted to any charity of your choice.

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