Obituary of Bernice (Sandy) Mary ALEXANDER

June 13, 1932 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

June 5, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta

Sandy Alexander of Calgary, AB, passed away on Saturday, June 5, 2021, at the age of 88 years.

Sandy was the daughter of Scottish immigrants, Bill and Helen (Nell) (nee Sutherland) Alexander, who met in Saskatoon, SK, and married as the dirty thirties began. She danced the Highland Fling in Regina, SK, at the age of five. Sandy said she started singing in the womb as those new Canadians sang around the piano, missing their homeland. She was a member of many choirs, including the Calgary Philharmonic Chorus. At the age of five Sandy enrolled herself at Herchmer School in Regina, SK. She finished high school in Kindersley, SK. She graduated in nursing from the Saint Paul’s Hospital School of Nursing, in Saskatoon, SK. Sandy called herself the gypsy nurse, having been registered in four different provinces, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Ontario, British Columbia, and two of the territories. In the late fifties she practiced “medicine” as the lone nurse in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT, and continued to nurse until her retirement at the age of sixty-five in Lax Kw’alaams, BC.

In “Tuk”, Sandy met her children’s father, Ron Cojocar, a geophysicist doing seismic exploration work. They married in Saskatchewan and divorced in Alberta. Ron passed away in 2014. Sandy was a member of the United Church of Canada. Sandy travelled the world, including Great Britain, most of Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. She preferred local transportation and hostels to tours. She also enjoyed hiking with her friends.

Sandy is survived by her brother Bill Alexander of Edmonton, AB, her two daughters, Alison Cojocar of Anchorage, Alaska, and Jocelyn Wensley of Calgary, AB; her son Mike Cojocar of Budapest, Hungary, six grandchildren, Leslie Rawson of Anchorage, Alaska, David, Adam, and Thomas Cojocar of Budapest, Hungary, and Flynn and Anna Wensley of Calgary, AB. Sandy was predeceased by her granddaughter Megan Rawson.

Funeral Services will be held at McInnis & Holloway (Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB) on Friday, February 18, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed here.

In living memory of Bernice (Sandy) Alexander, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.