Every week, Dianna Palamarek readies herself for her volunteer roles. She’s either greeting clients at the YMCA or sharing her incredible people skills with us at Unison Kerby Centre. Dianna has been behind the counter at the Kerby Café since July 2024. “I wanted to learn the cash register again,” Dianna says, chuckling. When she was a teenager in Lacombe, Dianna also worked a cash register and wanted to refresh her skills as the go-between for customers and kitchen staff. “As a teen, it was no problem!” she laughs.
If you’ve ever enjoyed food at the Kerby Café, you’ve probably met Dianna. She’s always ready with a smile. Her patient attentiveness and ‘customer is always right’ ethos have made her an important part of the Kerby experience. Dianna knows some meals need special instructions, like when it comes to food allergies (the Kerby Café makes an incredible gluten-free Reuben sandwich, by the way). Not only will she enter your order into the system, but she’ll also voice your special instructions directly to her friends in the back, working diligently to prepare your meal.
A people person through and through, Dianna says Unison Kerby Centre opened the world up for her. “It lets me be more social. I get to know people, and it’s a lot of fun,” she says. Beyond the Café, the welcoming community at Unison has made a big difference in her life.
Dianna has been learning a new skill by taking a watercolor class every Thursday on the 3rd floor of Unison Kerby. She was already well-versed in sketching, but this class has given her a new lease on art. “I sent one of my paintings to a friend in Montreal as a gift,” she says.
Before moving to Calgary, Dianna lived in the Montreal community of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce for 26 years. She worked as a companion for seniors. “If someone needed my help at home for a loved one, I’d go and keep them company, prepare meals, and make sure people and couples could go out and about,” Dianna explains. In addition, Dianna volunteered in nursing homes, teaching and running bridge clubs for anyone who wanted to learn.
As a longtime volunteer and someone who thrives on social interaction and responsibility, Dianna’s approach to life is rooted in a thoughtful, strategic mindset. She credits much of this to her love of chess, a game that has shaped her critical thinking skills, patience, and ability to stay level-headed.
Dianna has been teaching chess for over 40 years and has a remarkable track record. In 1990, she represented Canada at the Women’s Olympiad and even played Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky in 1987. “I drew him,” she says. “He said that my game was the best of the 20 people he played at one time.”
Dianna’s life has been impacted by several key moves. After her husband retired from McGill University’s IT department, he asked if she wanted to return to Alberta. The answer was, “Sure!” “My parents lived in Lacombe, so we stayed in Calgary and visited often, sometimes with my one of my sisters,” she says. When her mother became ill with Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy Body Dementia, Dianna put her companionship experience to work. “I had so much experience with dementia patients,” she shares, and her care work was a natural fit.
Dianna has spent most of her life caring for people. She realized she needed more of that in her life. One day, as she was hopping on the train at the Kerby station to go to a doctor’s appointment, she noticed our building for the first time. “I said, ‘Ah!’” and something clicked into place. Dianna had been aware of the area before, from her visits to Contemporary Calgary (across the street), but she had never really gone beyond the train and the art.
Noticing Unison for the first time and then diving in to learn more gave her a raison d’être. “Unison IS community,” she shares. Dianna says volunteering is easy, especially with such a supportive community. Unison has even found its way into her everyday life. “It’s funny—today I had an empty egg carton, and I remembered seeing a sign in the building asking for them, so I brought it in to donate,” she laughs.
Whether it’s a smile at the Café, exploring new creative outlets or finding ways, big and small, to contribute, Dianna’s presence at Unison feels like the perfect next chapter in a life built on connection and caring.