Sally Alecxe

Sally was the eighth of ten children born of Romanian-Canadian parents in 1922 in the Kayville-Dahinda area of Saskatchewan. Sally was ‘Sarah’ on her birth certificate but was actually ‘Sanfira’ on her baptismal record. During her school years, Sarah became Sally. Not able to enjoy the luxury of a full set of school years, she was a remarkable life long learner and able to ensure all her children had the benefit of a university education.

For 54 years Sally and her husband, Harry Alecxe (deceased 1996) lived at the same address on Francis Street in Regina, where they raised a family. Her husband, Harry, was well known for his popcorn stand on Broad Street and his popcorn wagons at the Regina Exhibition. Sally was always very involved in her church, St. George’s Romanian Orthodox Cathedral, as a regular parishioner and as a dedicated volunteer. A natural leader, she was the founding President of the church Ladies Auxiliary and subsequently held positions as Secretary Treasurer and again, as President. She was also one of the first women ever to be elected to the Church Council. As long as she was physically able, she spent hours with the auxiliary ladies and their various charitable events.

Our mother was one of the original independent minded women – wife, mother, volunteer and full-time employee of the T. Eaton Co. until she turned 70. She started out selling candy and worked her way to become Manager of the Business Office. She did not have the luxury of many formal education credentials, but she was as smart as they come and a hard worker. Then there were her many creative talents…

She sewed all our clothes and did so with amazing skill. She crocheted, she knitted, she did needlepoint…there are still many decorative items and clothes around our family that came from her hands. She baked and was well known for her fabulous Romanian Easter breads. Along with making marvellous Romanian style painted Easter eggs, where wax was used to preserve the colours and then removed with a warm cloth. Sally was a skilled and avid gardener and maintained a large and productive vegetable and fruit garden for most of her life. Of course, come fall, all that produce was preserved. A child of the 1930’s never wasted anything.

Sally had a full life. Romanians say ‘God grant you many, many years’…in her case that came to pass. She had life long friends who loved her and loved spending time with her. Always up for a lively game of cards or a raucous Romanian wedding with lots of dancing, she was fun to be with.

Our Mother was very proud of her family and she loved each and everyone of her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was deeply loved in return and held in a place of pride by all of us.

We Love you Mom.

Your children: Carol Phillips, Ken Alecxe, Linda Alecxe. Your grandchildren: Bart, Nico, Alexandra, Amber, Danny, Matthew. Your great grandchildren: Vivienne, Angus, Charlotte, Ivy, Henry, Abby, Isla, Gabriel, Hayden.

A private interment will be held Saturday, May 2 with memorial services to be planned at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a charitable donation to William Booth Special Care Home, 50 Angus Rd, Regina, SK S4R 8P6.