Québec

Mrs. Agatha Dyer, of Montréal, Quebec, was appointed 2004 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2004, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On April 17, 2002, her son, Corporal Ainsworth Dyer, died as a result of a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan, where he was serving with the 3^rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

Mrs. Dyer, née Dawkins, was born in Clarendon, Jamaica. In 1972, she immigrated to Canada. She married the late Paul Dyer of Toronto and together they had four children.

Mrs. Dyer is retired and lives in Ville Saint-Laurent, the largest of Montreal’s boroughs.

Mrs. Niki Psiharis, of Laval, was the 2013 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother and the sixth mother from Québec to be named by the Royal Canadian Legion. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 2013, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On June 20, 2007, her youngest son, Sergeant Chris Karigiannis, was killed when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle approximately 40 kilometers west of Kandahar City, Afghanistan—less than two months before his scheduled return home.

Despite her terrible loss, Mrs. Psiharis has maintained a positive outlook and has been an exemplary citizen, committed to engaging youth in remembrance. Since 2009, Mrs. Psiharis has accompanied students, from her son’s former high school to the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa and is the driving force behind having these same students completing more than 100,000 volunteer hours in the community.

Mrs. Psiharis was born in a village of less than 200 people outside of Kalamata, Greece, and married Anastasios Karigiannis when she was 18. They immigrated to Montréal, Québec, in 1968 and had three sons–Peter, Spiro and Chris. In 1990, she was widowed when her husband succumbed to cancer, leaving her to raise three teenaged sons on her own.

Mrs. Psiharis worked in the textile and building maintenance industries, retiring in 2001.

Reine Dawe’s early life began in the small town of St-Prosper, just south of Quebec City. She later graduated from Laval University’s physiotherapy program and entered a profession she enjoyed immensely until her retirement in 2013.

As the National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother, Mrs. Dawe laid a wreath at the National War Memorial on 11 November 2019 on behalf of all Canadian mothers who have lost a son or a daughter in the military either in action or in the course of his/her normal duty. 

She lost her son, Captain Matthew Jonathan Dawe, on July 4, 2007, while he served in Afghanistan.

It was during her physiotherapy studies that she first met her husband Peter Dawe, now a retired Lieutenant-Colonel who served close to 35 years in the Army. Reine became part of her husband’s wider military family. She also pursued professional continuing education and worked in a series of medical facilities often in military hospitals and clinics.

She and her husband raised four active boys. The Dawe boys were involved in everything from sports to music, and all four went on to follow their father’s example by joining the military. Philip, James and Matthew graduated from The Royal Military College. The eldest, Peter, did not attend the College but later obtained two Master’s degrees from the same institution. Peter is now a Major-General and Commander of the Canadian Special Operations Forces. Philip is a trauma surgeon at the Vancouver General Hospital and a Major in charge of the Canadian Forces Trauma Centre in that city. James retired as a Captain in the PPCLI after serving five years, including a tour in Bosnia. He now lives in Kingston, Ontario, and is Vice President North Atlantic of an American workplace supply company. Matthew, the youngest, was posted to 3PPCLI and served in Afghanistan where he died performing his duties as a platoon Commander.

As a volunteer with organizations such as Canadians for Women in Afghanistan and The Kingston Symphony Association, Reine focuses her time on issues that personally resonate with her.

Josée Simard grew up in Les Mechins, Quebec. Over the years, she has worked extensively in public-facing roles for a variety of organizations such as the Regroupement des Femmes de la région de Matane, helping families in need. 

As the National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother, Mrs. Simard laid a wreath at the National War Memorial on 11 November 2021 on behalf of all Canadian mothers who have lost a son or a daughter in the military either in action or in the course of his/her normal duty. Throughout the year she will also be called upon to perform other duties honouring the Fallen from all conflicts. 

She lost her daughter, Corporal Karine Blais, on 13 April 2009, when the armoured vehicle she was traveling in struck a roadside bomb near Kandahar, Afghanistan.