Hello everyone,
I’m writing with the sad news of the passing of alumna Danielle Terbenche, who graduated from the University of Waterloo with her PhD in 2011. Dr. Terbenche’s thesis, "Public Servants or Professional Alienists?: Medical Superintendents and the Early Professionalization of Asylum Management and Insanity Treatment in Upper Canada, 1840-1865," was supervised by Wendy Mitchinson, with Heather MacDougall and Doug McCalla serving as committee members.
Danielle was a founding member of the Tri-University Graduate Students' Association in 2008, and published two peer-reviewed papers during her studies. Her obituary states that while she “was proud of all her degrees ... she was proudest of an award that she received in 2008 from the Tri-University History program for ‘Best Paper or Article Submitted to a Scholarly Conference or Journal.’”
Kim Anderson, now Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition at Guelph, was a colleague of Danielle’s in the Tri-U doctoral program and remembers “her dear friend and colleague”: “It was her sense of humour and generosity that got me through my first few years of the PhD; she shared what she knew and took the time to bring me up to speed as I navigated unfamiliar territory. Then, and in the years that followed, Danielle always had a story. I am heartbroken and will miss the visiting, her chatty, fun emails, her laughter, and her caring ways.”
Professor Norman Smith taught Danielle and recalls that she was “truly a delight to work with. She brought her keen intellect, sharp wit, and hearty laugh to every conversation. She made campus better; she is greatly missed.”
The funeral service will take place at St. Margaret in-the-Pines Anglican Church on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Visitation will be at 11:00 a.m. followed by the service at 12:00 noon. A reception will follow.
My condolences to those who knew Danielle, and all my best wishes.
Adam Crerar
Associate Professor and Director, Tri-University Graduate Program in History