Dianna Rose Raketti, nee Welygan (1945 – 2016)
Dianna Raketti was born in Smeaton, Saskatchewan and grew up on a farm with three brothers and three sisters. She travelled to Watson Lake in 1965 to join her friend Fay White and to work as a waitress at the Belvedere Hotel owned by Tippy Mah. She met Ivan Raketti and they married in 1966 at the new Watson Lake Community Hall built by Ivan.1)
Dianna worked in banks and administration jobs and kept the books for the family contracting business, Raketti Construction Ltd. She was a returning officer for nineteen years, including six general territorial elections. She worked as a supervisor at the Watson Lake Visitor Information Centre for over twenty-five years. She was an active member of the community and served as a councillor for the Town of Watson Lake. In 2008, she was awarded the Hanseatic Award in recognition of her contributions to the municipal government. She was a long-standing member of the Territorial Water Board, Yukon Heritage Resources Board, and the Yukon Foundation.2) Dianna’s daughter, Elaine Taylor, was a minister in the Yukon Legislative Assembly, serving from 2002 to 2016.