July 17, 2024
In loving memory ~
Passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 17, 2024, after fighting acute myeloid leukemia and then pneumonia. Coleen was predeceased by her husband Robert Sanders who passed away on June 13, 2024. The children wish to thank the staff at the emergency department, fifth floor, and palliative care unit at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital for their compassion and care for both Coleen and Bob.
Mom lived a full life beginning to end. From a home birth in small town Saskatchewan in 1937 to raising three boys in Toronto and Vancouver to retiring in Parksville/Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island and crossing the continent more than once by motorhome.
Mom was a natural athlete playing basketball and softball in her youth, being a phys ed teacher, and teaching her boys to swim in the lake while camping for the summer on Georgian Bay. She liked ice curling and in later years floor curling. A highlight was her Flin Flon Kopper Kweens basketball team being inducted into the Manitoba High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2012 for their unmatched championship run from 1950 to 1955.
Mom told many stories of the rewards of helping with special Olympics in curling and softball. She would glow recalling times years later when former athletes would recognize her while shopping. Mom tried to be nice to people and to help others when she could.
Mom learned to like sailing with Bob in protected waters but liked it even more when the two of them toured the Maritimes in their motorhome. We heard stories of driving misadventures and local guardian angels coming to the rescue. They experienced their own Come From Away.
At home, Mom enjoyed her quilting projects that many of us have benefited from. Mom took great pride in her house and gardens. She was well known for her baking and her cinnamon buns in particular. Potato water was part of the secret recipe.
Coleen was survived by her three boys (and grand children) Dwight and Susan Hawes (Michael & Katrina, Scott & Chantelle, Brian), Robert and Darlene Hawes (James & Charity and great grand children Cadence and Caleb), Ian and Birgit Hawes (Lucia, Josefa), and by Bob's children Geoff Sanders and Holly Sanders and her friend Nancy Booth.
Coleen was predeceased by her brother Dale Dixon and was survived by her sister-in-law Valerie Dixon both from Saskatchewan.
There will be no service by request.
In lieu of flowers please donate to Special Olympics - Oceanside.
https://www.specialolympics.ca/british-columbia/communities/oceanside
