Wanda Lee Drury

Wanda Lee Drury died on December 20, 2025 at Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon. Wanda was a person of intelligence, culture, taste, and talent. Her joie de vivre touched all those who loved her and were loved by her, but her life was also one of depression, poverty, anger, fear, judgment, and addiction; many of her family and friend relationships came apart under these forces.

Wanda was born on October 25, 1952 in Lloydminster and grew up in North Battleford. She struggled to reconcile what she treasured of her origins with burdens that she could not leave behind. Her father Lee died in 2015 and her beloved mother Grace in 2023. Her brother Darcy died in 2024, and her siblings Kemp and Donna survive.

In her best moments, she was audacious, even fearless. Throughout her life, in pockets of creativity, she realized many of her dreams. As a teenager, Wanda found an escape at the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts at Fort San. She lived (with Paul Hanley) in Fort Qu'appelle, Wynyard, and at New Roots near Kandahar before moving to Saskatoon in 1986. Wanda put the best of her into being a mother to Will and Bede, to whom she was both giving and exacting. She was an excellent cook and host, and loved receiving guests at the farm and at her home on 29th Street. She was an avid and generous knitter. She played clarinet and bassoon, and she experienced the sublime through music. She served on the boards of the Broadway Theatre and the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra.

Wanda relished reading and words. In her late 30s, she enrolled at the University of Saskatchewan, and the study of literature was deeply meaningful to her. She worked as a teacher, proofreader, and editor. Her work for the Structurist brought her special satisfaction. She played SCRABBLE with virtuosity. She found comfort in the controlled confines of this game, in which she typically crushed her opponents, including during the last month of her life.

Wanda's physical garment was a site of embodied trauma, and decades of ill health, both physical and emotional, took a great toll. The legacy of Tommy Douglas and the generosity of Canadian taxpayers allowed her to live her last years in security. The love and humanity of the staff and residents of Sherbrooke were a priceless gift.

If you wish to make a donation in Wanda's memory, please consider the Sherbrooke Foundation (https://www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca/get-involved/donate/), the Saskatoon Youth Orchestra (https://syo.ca/support/donate/), and the Broadway Theatre (https://broadwaytheatre.ca/donate).

We will remember Wanda with a memorial gathering on Saturday, December 27 at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, 419 Avenue E North.