Joan Alice Sande

With heavy hearts, my sisters and I wish to announce the passing of our beloved mother, Joan Sande, at 94 years of age.

Mom was born in England and immigrated to Canada in her mid-teens with her family. Starting life anew in Prince George, BC she completed high school and married Arthur Sande. Together they had three daughters, Glenys, Gale, and Marian. In 1963 the family moved to Valemount BC for Dad’s new employment opportunity. There Mom worked variously in a bank, selling Avon, and in the local hardware store while we were in school. Always hard-working, industrious and creative she was an excellent seamstress and taught us candle-making, copper tooling, sewing, leather tooling, cooking, and other life-skills and enjoyable ways to spend free time. As a family we enjoyed skiing, family vacation trips, visiting, hiking, and most events that a small community offered.

Moving again for Dad’s employment, the family lived in Ladysmith and later, Duncan, on Vancouver Island. During that time Mom became a very successful real estate agent, continuing to work after Dad’s retirement and a subsequent move to Kelowna. When Mom retired she continued to be busy, social, and involved. She enjoyed activities with a number of friends and groups of which a painting group was a favorite. Always interested in the stock market, she managed a small investment group for friends and some family. She also especially enjoyed volunteering at the Learning in Retirement Centre, an organization in Kelowna in which volunteers lead classes for seniors in everything imaginable.

Before Dad passed in 1999 they wintered in Arizona and enjoyed a number of trips to distant countries. After his passing, she continued to travel with friends or groups and to be involved with her family, social activities and volunteering.

In her final five years we were heartbroken as dementia steadily stole so much from her, but her core values, interests, and love remained true. She enjoyed regular family visits, painted hundreds of pictures with guidance, played card games, put together over a hundred puzzles with us, and joined a social group three times weekly until February this year. It became necessary then for her physical safety to have more monitoring at a local long term centre. She adjusted there and felt safe and cared for by long daily visits from family and round the clock check-ins by staff.

Mom valued family, integrity, honesty, work ethic, and loyalty above all and was true to those qualities always. Always kind, always patient, always ready to help. Mom had a busy and rich full life. She was always there for us, always interested, always guiding, always devoted, always showing her love in a thousand different ways.

Mom is also lovingly remembered by her brother Peter Knell, sisters-in-law Edna and Sandra, nieces Jeannette, Diane, and Jean, nephew Graham, six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, as well as all the cousins and their children.

Forever cherished. Forever loved and missed.

No formal funeral service is planned. In lieu of flowers please contribute to the Alzheimer’s Association.