‘We all adored her’: Family mourning loss of daughter in ATV crash

A 21-year-old Flamborough woman killed in an ATV crash near Tews Falls is being remembered for her passion for helping others and the joy" she brought to her family.

Rebecca Dilkes was a passenger on an ATV being driven by her 24-year-old sister, Camille, on Harvest Road, just east of Ofield Road South, around 5:30 p.m. on April 25.

The ATV slid down an embankment about 10 metres and both women were thrown from the vehicle, said Const. Jerome Stewart with Hamilton police.

Camille suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while Rebecca was found unresponsive and died at the scene.

Both women were wearing appropriate safety equipment" and speed was not a factor in the crash, according to police.

Eric Dilkes said his granddaughter was someone who became more sophisticated and more beautiful" with each passing year.

She was going to go somewhere," said Eric. We all adored her."

The Hamilton Spectator reached out to Dilkes' parents, Bradley and Sally Dilkes, but they declined an interview.

According to her obituary, Rebecca, lovingly known as Becca," moved from Sarnia to Waterdown with her family when she was in Grade 6. The youngest of three sisters - Rebecca, Colette and Camille - her family wrote that they couldn't imagine our lives without her."

She was such a wonderful, welcomed member of our family, loved immediately by her two older sisters. They couldn't get enough of her," read the obituary. Becca fought all her life to keep up with them, never wanting to be left behind (and she wasn't)."

Graduating with honours from Waterdown District High School in 2016, Rebecca went on to earn her bachelor of science in nursing from Lakehead University in April, according to her obituary.

Describing it as a trip of a lifetime" in a Facebook post, Colette said Rebecca also completed her nursing placement in New Zealand this winter.

Becca was the adventurous, social butterfly of the family," wrote Colette. She loved and cared for so many people."

Rebecca was also well known in the community, having worked as a lifeguard and aquatics instructor at the Waterdown YMCA for six years, and spending four summers as a lifeguard at her second home," Emerald Lake.

In a Facebook post, Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP Donna Skelly said her thoughts and prayers were with the Dilkes family at this difficult time."

For the last three summers, Rebecca worked part-time as a personal support worker (PSW) at Alexander Place nursing home in Waterdown. In a Facebook post, the organization said Rebecca was a dearly loved" staff member and that she would be missed tremendously."

Her family described Rebecca's love for seniors as tender," treating each resident like her own grandparents."

Her passion and calling was to help people," read the statement from the long-term care home.

With her degree completed, the family said Rebecca was looking forward to being back home with her sisters after four years in Thunder Bay.

She brought so much joy to our family and we will miss her dearly," stated Colette in a Facebook post.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private funeral for the family will be held for Rebecca at the Kitching, Steepe & Ludwig Funeral Home in Waterdown on Friday at 11 a.m. Those hoping to join the family are asked to do so via a livestream on their website.

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com