Obituary of Betty Rose Sardi

August 29, 1941 – Calgary, Alberta

July 10, 2020 – Calgary, Alberta

Betty Rose Sardi, adored wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away peacefully on July 10, 2020 at the age of 78 with her family by her side.

Her beautiful life will forever be cherished by her husband and greatest love of 61 years, Leslie, her four wonderful children, Les Jr (Monica), Betty Jane (Karl), Kathy (Robert), and Terry (Brent); nine grandchildren, Tatiana (Matt), Wyatt, Katie (Derek), Korrie Ann, Kimberly, Benjamin (1997-2014), Kristina (Daren), Bence and Gregory; and one great-grandchild, Olivia, and her faithful dog, Annie.  Betty is also survived by her very special uncle Gordon Palmer and his family. Betty was predeceased by her beloved grandson, Benjamin, her mother and father, Margaret Wangler and Joseph Gall, her special Auntie Sara and her grandparents, Gabor and Roza Pelyhe and cousin Bela Sas.

Mom’s greatest accomplishment and the one she was most proud of, is her family and the outstanding home she kept. Nothing made our mom happier than being with her family and her beloved, Annie, as they were her constant source of pride and joy.  She was an accomplished cook and loved nothing more than to prepare big family meals alongside her daughters. Equally, Easter and Christmas baking were a big deal in mom’s kitchen as she excelled at Hungarian cooking and baking. 

In her younger years, Betty was very creative and enjoyed the arts, particularly playing piano, drawing, oil painting and listening to classical music and opera.  During the summer days, you could find mom out in one of her many, large and impeccably maintained gardens tending to her vegetables, herbs, and flowers.  As mom got older, her favourite pastimes became knitting, shopping, crossword puzzles, reading and listening to Queen’s, Freddie Mercury, she was that cool.

Her travels and cruises, our family vacations to our cabin, Hawaii or Hungary were among her most cherished memories. Hawaii was a very special place to her and without a doubt we know that a piece of her spirit will always be there in the warm breeze, the crashing waves and the bird-song filled tropical jungles.

Perhaps the very greatest thing about our mom is that she created, along with our father, a family with such a strong, indelible bond that nothing has, can or will ever break it.  Her final message was “I love all of you very much, please love and be good to one another’

Betty was born in Calgary, Alberta on August 29, 1941. She attended St. Mary, St. Angela, St. Paul, and St. Joseph for grades 1-9 before returning to St. Mary for all 3 years of high school upon where she graduated.  In her youth she danced in the Hungarian Folk Group under St. Elizabeth of Hungary’s Catholic Church.  She met her then to be husband, Leslie, at a soccer function at the Hungarian Community hall and shortly thereafter married to become an incredible, cherished wife and an adored and incomparable mother. Our home was always clean, our clothes were always laid out, our meals were always made and she was there for each and every one of us, no matter the problem, no matter the time.  She did ‘all the things’. 

It would be wrong to say that our mom lost her battle because she never stopped fighting. No matter how sick she was, she was always determined. When anyone else would have broken, mom stayed strong. Through her, we know what resilience and perseverance truly look like. Just because she is no longer here, it doesn’t mean she lost her fight, she just got tired and accepted the next part of her journey, even looking forward to seeing Ben. 

The family would like to give thanks to Dr. Charles Yam, Dr. Brandie Walker and the entire unit 61 staff at the Foothills hospital, with special thanks going to her cherished Godson, Anthony Falvi (serendipitously a Nurse Practitioner on the unit), Wayne and Winston.

Funeral Services will be held at McINNIS & HOLLOWAY (Chapel of the Bells, 2720 Centre Street North, Calgary, AB), on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on Betty’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com.

If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Cochrane Humane Society, 62 Griffin Industrial Pointe, Cochrane, AB, T4C 0A3, Telephone: (403) 932-2072, www.cochranehumane.ca 

In living memory of Betty Sardi, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH, CALGARY, AB T2E 2V6, Telephone: 403-243-8200