My Memories of "Saz" (a.k.a. "Sandy") (from "My Short Stories (Book One)") - by Anne Shier (a.k.a. "Annie")

(Dedicated to my baby sister, “Saz”, who died of cancer in October 2005)

My Eulogy at her funeral on October 21, 2005:

Hello, my name is Anne.  I remember when my baby sister, Sandy (or, “Saz” as she was popularly known) was a cute, chubby little baby who ran around getting into everything.  She had been born on December 22, 1962.  She was so cuddly that holding her was like holding my favourite teddy bear.  She was a lot of fun to play with and to look after.  Because I was more than 10 years older than her, our mother often gave me the treasured task of looking after both of my little sisters, Connie and Saz, as, they were only about 18 months apart in age, with Connie being the elder of the two.  It was a nurturing experience that was to prepare me well for babysitting for other parents in our neighborhood throughout my teens, as well as, later being a mother myself. 

During the summertime, I used to take the girls out swimming to the old Tam O’Shanter pool down at Kennedy Road and Sheppard Avenue East when they were just 8 and 7 respectively, and I was 17.  It was a job I loved doing and, according to my mother, I did it well.  It was a labour of love, believe me.  Much later, I used to take Saz out shopping when I was in my mid-twenties.  I looked forward to the many shopping trips on Saturdays that Saz and I took when she was just 14 and I was 25.

In particular, I remember, vividly, a major camping trip that our family took out west in 1966.  I was just about to graduate from elementary school, having just turned 14.  At that time, Rob, our brother, was 12, Connie was 4 and Saz was only 3.  My mother was alive then (she had died tragically in December 2002).  We did the trip together with Dad’s sister, Ann Harju (my Auntie Ann), and her husband who was my Uncle Harry, and their two children, my cousins, Sue and Rick, who were slightly older than me.  It was a 3-week trip that took us from Toronto to our first stop in Sudbury, where the Harju family joined us and which then continued out west all the way to Vancouver Island.  That was when I truly began to appreciate Canada’s awesome beauty, those majestic Rocky Mountains, in particular.  I’m sure that this trip was one of the catalysts for my later decision to move out to Calgary, Alberta in 1981.

When I was planning my move to Calgary early in 1981, in order to “kick-start” my stalled teaching career, Saz was more than willing to help me out by sharing the driving out to Calgary with me in my car.  At the time, I was 29 and she was 18, just finishing high school.  I arranged for us to stay with my girlfriend, Sharon and her family, in Calgary.  While Saz and I were out west together for those two weeks, we took a trip to Sylvan Lake, Alberta and stayed in a small cabin for a long weekend, just swimming, lying on the beach, hanging out, and having fun.

We also went to Lacombe, Alberta to visit with the Rowland family, three members of which I had met in Europe during the past spring.  The three Rowland women that I had met there were Irene, her daughter Voni, and Irene’s mother Bea.  We stayed with the Rowlands for a weekend on their farm in Lacombe and we party-hardied with Voni and her sisters there.  We later went to visit my long-time friend, Stan Penttinen, and his family in Edmonton, Alberta because I had phoned Stan previously and told him I was moving to Calgary that summer.  He and his family welcomed us both warmly to his home.  That particular trip out west was a vividly fun time for us and I’ll never forget it.  Saz told me she’d never forget it either.  When we finally got back to Calgary after all those side-trips, it was time for her to fly home and then I was left to fend for myself.

          She started school that fall at York University in Toronto in a Bachelor of Commerce (honours) program and, by all accounts, excelled in her university studies, which accounted for her great subsequent success in the business world after her graduation.  And, later, she met and fell in love with a wonderful guy named Don (whom she’d told me was a real hunk!), married him, and they had three lovely young children together: my two beloved nephews and my lovely niece.  These three kids are Saz’s legacy to the rest of us now.

In memory of my dearly beloved sister, Saz, I would like to dedicate a beautiful song that I just love listening to called “My Immortal” (by the female band, Evanescence) to her memory.  This song’s haunting and intensely emotional quality makes me think of her, and its beauty transcends me whenever I listen to it.  Saz was a lively, loving and spirited person in life and I will always love her dearly.  I will miss her very much in my life in the future and I am very proud to be her sister. 

[Addendum:  Saz was also a very accomplished pianist during her lifetime, having achieved her Grade 10 at the Royal Conservatory of Music.  If she had lived and had chosen to play the piano for a living, she could have easily had a stellar career as a touring stage performer.]

published by Authorhouse, copyright 2011, Anne Shier.  All rights reserved.