Sally Jane Patricia O’Sullivan-Lee
Passed Dec. 22nd in North Shore Hospice as a result of a serious stroke sustained a week prior. Sally is survived by her two daughters, Katie
O’Sullivan-Ashton, (Alan Ashton) and Emma O’Sullivan, and husband and friend, Brian Lee; her two sisters, Carol Herron in Northern Ireland, and Linda Booth, in France, as well as three grandsons, Guerin, Teagan, and Hayden, stepsons Mike and Dave Lee, and numerous nieces and nephews. Sally was born in London, England, Jan. 26, 1951 as the youngest of three sisters, to William and Olive Parsons. She emigrated to Canada in 1975, and prospered in her new environment while raising Katie and Emma. She became a leading Notary Public in the Abbotsford community for twenty years, served as president of the Society of Notaries, and became the first woman Rotarian in Western Canada in 1984. Sally also served as a valued board member of Envision Credit Union for 14 years, contributing her unique communication skills and insight to Envision’s board of directors. Sally was always evolving, and her last career shift was to become a Chartered Mediator, doing challenging but rewarding work, predominantly for the Ministry of Children and Families. Sally’s continued success elevated her to the level of “Mentoring Mediator” and
her services were in high demand. Unfortunately, a first serious stroke in October of 2009 halted her impressive
mediation career. Even so, at that time, Sally demonstrated her courage
and resolve by not only proving the neurologist’s gloomy prognosis wrong, but battled through speech and physio
therapies for the next three years, making amazing progress in both areas. Sadly, and as a huge shock to
everyone in light of her steady progress, the last stroke was a battle just too large for one person to win.
Sally loved travelling and cooking, and doted on her three grandsons. She will be remembered as a vivacious, warm
hearted, and loving woman with an infectious sense of humour, who always lived life in the moment. Sally’s
strong faith gave her an enviable courage about life and its challenges. She will be missed by all who knew her.
The family would like to thank the wonderful doctors and staff at Lions Gate Hospital and the North Shore
Hospice. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the North Shore Stroke Recovery Centre in
North Vancouver. e-mail: info@nssrc.org
Phone 778-340-5803. A celebration of Sally’s life will be held at the Salvation Army’s Cascade Community Church, 35910 Delair Road in
Abbotsford, BC on Saturday, January 19th at 1:00 p.m.