Biographical Sketch

David Dyck was born to Johann and Maria (Nickel) Dyck on January 25, 1846 in Chortitza, south Russia. In 1867 he married Helena Rempel, the daughter of Peter and Katherina (Isaac) Rempel. To this marriage fifteen children were born. In 1873 he joined the Mennonite Brethren church and three years later, in 1876, he and his family immigrated to America. They first came to Marion County, Kansas and then in 1877 settled in Woodson County, Kansas where they lived for seven years. He was soon elected minster and then elder of the congregation. To further his knowledge, he attended Rochester Theological Seminary for a short period of time in 1883. In 1884 he took charge of the church at Lehigh Kansas, a post he held for six years. It was here in 1890 that he was ordained by Abram Schellenberg. In 1892 he began to serve as elder of the Kirk County Church, which did for three years.

In Manitoba the Mennonite Brethren church was growing and needed a strong leader. The conference appointed Dyck to take charge of the work there in 1895. He provided good leadership for church growth for eleven years. As new Mennonite Brethren settlements were established in Saskatchewan, Dyck moved his family there as well, becoming very active in churches such as Borden, Bruderfeld, and Waldheim.

In addition to his congregational work, he was also interested in mission work to the Russian settlements in Saskatchewan. He served as an itinerant evangelist, on the Board of Foreign Missions, and was the first moderator of the Northern District Conference (Canadian), which he held for thirteen years.

In his later years, his eye sight grew progressively worse. After a number of strokes, he died in Waldheim Saskatchewan on January 6, 1933.