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Joan Stricker, businesswoman and former champion curler, dead at 57

Joan Stricker, a five-time Saskatchewan women's curling champion, is being mourned by the province's curling community.

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The Saskatchewan curling community is mourning the loss of Joan Stricker, a champion curler and Regina businesswoman.

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Stricker was found dead east of Regina on Monday. She was last seen in Regina on the 3100 block of Windsor Park Road on Sunday at approximately 11 a.m. A vehicle matching the description of Stricker’s was located the same day in the RM of Edenwold.

A search, involving provincial RCMP, the Regina Police Service and Search and Rescue Saskatchewan, located Stricker’s body approximately 1.6 kilometres away from the abandoned vehicle.

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Stricker’s death is being investigated by the Saskatchewan Coroners Service, but foul play isn’t suspected.

According to close friends and former teammates, the 57-year-old Stricker had dealt with mental health issues for most of her life.

“It’s so hard to believe and it seems surreal, because she was one of those larger-than-life personalities when you talked to her at any social event,” Regina’s Michelle Englot, a longtime teammate and friend of Stricker’s, said Tuesday. “I did know that she battled mental health issues back as far as when we first started curling together, and she was fairly open about it.

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“It was something that ran in the family and unfortunately, that was something she was dealt. She always dealt with it very well, and that’s why it’s such a shock. It brings to light how the whole mental illness thing needs more attention, because you don’t know what somebody is dealing with. It’s hard to know how to help someone.”

Englot and Stricker shared in five Saskatchewan women’s championships while curling out of Regina.

The Michelle Englot curling team in 1991, when it won the Saskatchewan women’s championship. Left to right: Michelle Englot (then Michelle Schneider), Lorie Kehler, Roberta Materi and Joan Stricker. Patrick Pettit/Regina Leader-Post.
The Michelle Englot curling team in 1991, when it won the Saskatchewan women’s championship. Left to right: Michelle Englot (then Michelle Schneider), Lorie Kehler, Roberta Materi and Joan Stricker. Patrick Pettit/Regina Leader-Post. Patrick Pettit

Englot was the skip while Stricker was a third on championship teams in 1988 and 1989. Stricker was a second in 1990 and 1992 and a lead in 2001. Stricker also won a Saskatchewan junior women’s title in 1980 while curling out of Kronau with Kathy Fahlman.

“(Stricker) had the most outgoing and bubbly personality,” Englot said. “It’s hard to fathom that someone who could put on that brave face struggled internally.”

Regina’s Kenda Richards was Englot’s coach and alternate at the national championships in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1992. Stricker retired from competitive curling in 2002.

“(Stricker) was bouncy, bubbly, full of life, wonderful, helpful and joyous,” Richards said. “She wasn’t what anyone would expect someone with mental health issues to be like. She was a ball of fun, and it’s just so sad because she was a beautiful person.”

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Joan joined her husband Kevin at Fries Tallman Lumber in 1999, and the two became full owners of the business 10 years later. Junior Achievement of Saskatchewan inducted the Strickers into its Business Hall of Fame in 2017.

A Facebook post from Fries Tallman on Tuesday said funeral arrangements are pending and asked for time and space for the family to grieve. Joan and Kevin Stricker have one son, Jon,

In lieu of flowers, the family asks those who want to make a donation to give to The Caring Place, a charitable organization that connects people in need with its team of 12 counsellors and social workers — regardless of their ability to pay.

“I will always remember her for her outgoing personality,” Englot said. “She had a great smile and an infectious laugh. That’s what everybody remembers about her, and that’s why everybody is finding it so hard to deal with. I have a pit in my stomach that won’t go away, and you always wonder if you could have done something or could have helped.”

Kevin and Joan Stricker at their business Fries Tallman Lumber
Kevin and Joan Stricker at their business Fries Tallman Lumber Fries Tallman

— With files from Austin Davis

mmccormick@postmedia.com

twitter.com/murraylp

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