A dear friend, respected poet, artist, well-loved Vancouver and most recently, Pender Island community member and all-round extraordinary human being, Sandra Gail (Sandy to most of us) Shreve died on Sunday, February 8 at a friend’s house in Saanichton. She was interred in a green burial at the Pender Island Cemetery on Wednesday, February 18 where she joined her beloved husband, Bill Twaites.
Born in Quebec and raised in New Brunswick, Sandy moved to Vancouver in 1971 where she had a 30-plus year career in administration at the Vancouver Public Library, in several departments at SFU, and finally as Communications Manager for the Legal Services Society of BC (now Legal Aid). Her many community contributions to the arts there included founding BC’s Poetry in Transit program. It was in the late ’80s that I met Sandy when I joined the Vancouver Industrial Writers Union, of which she was an active member. Altogether, Sandy wrote, edited, and co-edited five poetry collections, three anthologies (including two editions of the groundbreaking, In Fine Form) and several chapbooks. Her literary papers are housed in SFU’s Special Collections. A bio that reflects her early years as a writer can be found here.
After 40 years in Vancouver, she and Bill moved to Pender Island where she immediately, she said, felt “home.” It was now that Sandy pursued her passion for painting, encouraged by local artist Judith Walker and others. She went on to exhibit and win accolades for her visual art on Pender and around BC, while continuing with her first love of poetry. Lately she even combined the two in innovative ways. Her volunteer activities on Pender included driving for Meals on Wheels, helping with numerous gallery shows, working with the G’old Network, and for five years organizing the Favourite Poems event at the Pender Library.
When Sandy first told me her terminal diagnosis, I wept, but she said sternly, “We’re all going to die. The question is, what do we intend to do in the time we have left?” It’s a question that perfectly shows the stern wisdom and clear vision of our dear friend.
She asked to give her heartfelt thanks to the doctors, nurses and staff at the Pender Island Medical Clinic and at BC Cancer in Victoria for their exemplary care. Also to the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) service providers who made it possible for her to die on her own terms. In lieu of flowers, donations to any of these organizations would be welcome.
If you would like to add your own memories and write a tribute to Sandy, please reach out to the Union, mail@writersunion.ca.
