Obituary of Sandra Faye Jeffrey

February 16, 1950 - December 23, 2021

It is with extreme sadness we announce the passing of Sandra Faye Jeffrey (nee Dyce) on Thursday, December 23, 2021, after a long and courageous battle with breast cancer, while always maintaining her grace and dignity throughout.

Sandra was born in Rosetown, SK, and raised in Saskatoon. She attended Bedford Road Collegiate and the University of Saskatchewan. She was destined to be a teacher from a very early age. Sandra met her husband, Garry Jeffrey, while in school and together they committed to attending university and becoming teachers. Following Garry’s convocation, he accepted a teaching position in Calgary. A year later, they were married, and Sandra joined him there. She enrolled at the University of Calgary to complete her third year, and luckily received a contract to teach with the Calgary Board of Education that fall. Thus began a very successful thirty-one-year teaching career. During her first two years of teaching, she worked tirelessly to complete her Bachelor of Education degree.

Over the course of her career, she taught elementary children at five schools, and was a Learning Leader at two of them. She loved her students and they loved her! Sandra and her students benefited tremendously from the love and kindness they shared with each other. Sandra’s commitment to the education of students continued long after she retired from the CBE in 2002. She embarked on a tutoring career that lasted until her cancer diagnosis in 2015. Many of her students began working with her when they were in the early primary grades, and together they continued their educational journey until they were in high school.

Family and friends were extremely important to Sandra, who hosted many dinners and get-togethers over the years. Sandra loved flowers and gardening, spending countless hours developing and maintaining her beautiful garden, as well as the other outdoor and indoor spaces of her home.

Sandra will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered by her husband of 51 years, Garry Jeffrey, her sister Inky (Roy) McArthur, her brother Keith Dyce, her brother-in-law Ray (Alva) Jeffrey, and numerous nieces and nephews. Sandra was predeceased by her parents, Alexander and Mabel Dyce, and sister Margaret Gross.

At Sandra’s request, there will be no formal funeral service. Everyone is encouraged to remember Sandra in their own way and think of her when they witness gentle acts of kindness. We will dearly love and miss her forever. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed here. If friends so desire, memorial tributes may be made directly to the Alberta Cancer Foundation, c/o Tom Baker Cancer Centre, 1331 - 29 Street N.W., Calgary, AB T2N 4N2 Telephone: 1 (866) 412-4222. www.albertacancer.ca/memorial.

Special thanks to the doctors, nurses and the staff at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the Palliative Care Team for their compassion and care. Our family is grateful for that.

In living memory of Sandra Jeffrey, 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.