Our beloved mother, sister, aunt, and friend, Cynthia Vink-Broadfoot, born January 31, 1956, passed away peacefully at the Chatham Kent Family Health Alliance (Chatham campus) on March 5, 2026, following a courageous and long-running battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Having this disease did not stop Cyndi from making the very best of each day she was given, and to the surprise of none who knew her, she resolutely surpassed every prognosis, showing us all what perseverance, courage, and love look like in the face of adversity.
Cynthia-Ann Marie Vink-Broadfoot was predeceased by her parents, Anna (nee Crombeen) and William Vink of Wallaceburg, Ontario and is survived by her children, Keir (Courtney Mann), and Lindsay (Derek Hallyburton) Broadfoot, and Keir and Lindsay’s father, her former partner Doug Broadfoot. She will be sadly missed by her grandchildren Ruari and Caius Broadfoot, and by her siblings, Francis, Robert (Linda), Bonnie (Robert) Jefford, Will (Michelle), and Anne Marie (Yvan) Benoit. Cyndi will also be missed by her many nieces and nephews, as well as many cousins and close friends, especially Linda Routley, Deborah and Gary Russle, Ann Sutton, and Marilyn Barsanti-Innes, and her beloved dog Molly.
Cyndi majored in history as an undergraduate at the University of Windsor then pursued her Bachelor of Education, focusing on Special Education. She then went on to get her Masters of Education from York University. Throughout her long career, from 1980 until her retirement in 2016, she worked for the York Catholic District School Board, Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board, and St. Clair Catholic School Board, first as a teacher, then vice principal, then principal, finishing her career at George P. Vanier elementary school in Chatham. Throughout her long career as an educator she remained focused on helping those students who most needed help: students with learning disabilities, economic disabilities or special education needs.
Along with her passion for teaching, Cyndi was a talented artist who loved nature and native plant gardening, travel, photography, film & television, books, music, and birds. She never stopped learning and took an avid interest in the world around her and in the lives of her family and friends. She could often be found travelling the back roads of the county, binoculars and camera in hand, looking for the next addition to her birding life list. She was a trusted advisor and friend, never shying away from telling the truth and never forgetting to tell us she loved us.
Cyndi declared there “was to be no sad funeral”, but only happy memories and good fellowship, so to honour her wishes there will be a celebration of her life with friends and family in the near future, as she wished.
In memory of Cyndi, please feel free to make donations to her favourite charities: Pet and Wildlife Rescue Chatham and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
