Mrs. Sharon Lynne Sage

Our world is too full of drudgery and gloom, but mercifully, perhaps even miraculously, there is enough light to shine transcendent over the darkness and grey. It is the light of kindness, friendship, humour and cheer, the light that reveals our true humanity. We need this light because without it we are not we, we’re just you and me, there is no us. Most of us shine our fair share, but for reasons that never seem to end, there are those among us who are too lost in that darkness and grey, so that humanity must require a select few among us to shine more than their share of this vital light, the best among us who are all too pleased to carry that heavier burden.

Sharon Sage was one of those select few. Beloved wife of Douglas, adored mother of Tawny, Kimberley and Shawn, and a shining sun of a nana to Nickolas and Melina Rose, Sharon passed away on April 21st, 2016 at 68 years of age. She died surrounded by those whose lives she enriched the most, her husband and children, but if she were to have passed surrounded by all those whose lives were richer because they spent even a moment of theirs with her, it is doubtful that there would be a hospital large enough to accommodate that many people.

In addition to her own children, she was a mother to 44 foster children, including not only children from troubled homes but children with severe disabilities and special needs. Never seeing herself as merely a “foster parent,” as long as a child was in Sharon’s care, she was the Mommy those innocent children deserved, making them a part of the family and treating them with just as much love and care as her own children. Her children would dread the day their foster brother or sister would be picked up to be adopted into a new loving home because even though they were happy that their foster sibling was going to permanent parents, they were so sad to see their own Mommy spend most of the rest of the day crying, devastated that the child was leaving. In spite of the sadness she knew she was signing up for, not to mention all the extra work and responsibility, Sharon was happy be Mommy to a child in need 44 times throughout the 1980s and 90s.

Her boundless maternal nature, generosity and strength of conviction was in no small part due to the influence of the parents she loved devotedly and greatly admired, Annie and Wesley Green. Wesley, a well respected community minded man, was a firefighter and prominent member of the Royal Canadian Legion. Annie, Sharon’s best friend and kindred spirit, derived most of her pleasure from quality time with her children and grandchildren, as well as contributing to numerous charities worldwide. Sharon always enjoyed telling people about the goat her mother was so pleased to have bought for a farmer in Africa, which was among the many altruistic purchases that Annie valued so much more highly the few material purchases she made for herself.

One of five children, Sharon was very close with each one of her siblings, Carol, Gloria, Brian and Bruce, not just a sister to them but also a friend and confidant. She found much enjoyment in regular visits and phone calls, forging a tight bond with her siblings that lasted her entire life. Her nieces and nephews showed an obvious love for “Aunty Sharon” that was a constant reminder to her own children just how lucky they were.

As her children became young adults, they would become increasingly suspicious that their friends’ primary motivation for hanging out with them was to get to see their mom, coming over to the Sage house to chat with Sharon around the kitchen table. She would even join them on bowling and casino nights, fitting right in as just one of the gang.

Sharon was a ray of light brightening up everywhere she went, making meaningful connections with people where most of us are merely consumers, clients or patients. Toronto is filed with countless people, whether they be cashiers, pharmacists, bank tellers, doctors, who came to know her not as yet another random person to deal with during their workday, but as Sharon, their friend. It could be a friendship based on a series of 5 to 10 minute interactions, but with her that was all you needed. If you were playing bingo on a friday night, overheard Sharon talking and wanted to go over and ask if you could join her table, you wouldn’t be the first to do it.

That light keeping our humanity shining got a fair bit dimmer on April 21st, but for those of us with the great fortune of knowing Sharon Sage, if we can all just shine back a little bit of all the light she shone on us then maybe we can keep it almost as bright.