Fillmore Canney Sankey

Fillmore (Fill) Canney Sankey (age 84) passed peacefully into the arms of his Savior and Lord Jesus Christ on Friday December 27, 2019 at his home in Edmonds, WA after a courageous battle with cancer.

Fill was born on July 13, 1935 to JW Sidney and Hazel Sankey in Seattle, the older of two sons. He was raised in Edmonds, graduating from Edmonds High School in 1953. On August 14, 1947, he committed his life to Jesus Christ, and has faithfully served Him for the past 72 years. He attended Bible Standard Institute (Eugene Bible College/New Hope Christian College) in Eugene, OR, where he met the love of his life, Melba Brown. After graduation, they were married at the Church of the Open Bible in Eugene on July 14, 1956. Their 63 years of marriage was a testament to the love that they had for each other and to the blessing of being committed to a Scripture-based Godly marriage.

After graduating from BSI, Fill became an assistant pastor at the Church of the Open Bible in Martinez, California. After two years, he returned to Seattle to attend Seattle Pacific College (Seattle Pacific University), where he earned a Master’s Degree in Education. After graduation, he built his home on the property where he grew up in Edmonds and where his parents still resided.

He was a secondary school teacher in the Edmonds School District before he became an administrator at his alma mater, Edmonds High School. He was promoted to the role of principal at Mountlake Terrace High School and then became the principal at Woodway High School. He finished his career in the school district as a Human Resources director. After retiring, he became a part of the Human Resources department at Northwest University in Kirkland, where he had a significant impact for several years.

In addition to pouring his life and love into his four boys, their wives, 10 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren, he was passionate about ministering to the spiritual and physical needs of those in his community. He served faithfully in churches throughout his life, most recently at Alderwood Community Church. In addition, in his retirement years, he was active on the boards of International Christian Outreach and Relief Group (INCOR) and the Snohomish County Pregnancy Resource Center. He faithfully volunteered with the Mountlake Terrace Food Bank and gave generously to Gideon’s International and Samaritan’s Purse, among many other organizations that are committed to sharing the good news of the Gospel.

Fill was preceded in death by his parents and, earlier this year by his wife, Melba Sankey. He is survived by children, Stanley (Charleen) of Eugene, OR, Stephen (Patsy) of Edmonds, WA, Stuart (Cathy) of Edmonds, WA, Sterling (Allison) of Edina, MN; 10 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren; one brother, Stanley Sankey of Federal Way, WA and many other friends and relatives.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to: Snohomish County Pregnancy Resource Center (https://www.prcpartners.org/) or to INCOR of Seattle, WA (https://incorworldwide.org/).

Family and friends are invited to attend a Celebration of Life at Alderwood Community Church (3403 Alderwood Mall Blvd, Lynnwood, WA) on Saturday, February 1, 2020 at 1:00 pm.