Obituaries

TAMI THERESA SANDERS

On May 17, 2023, Tami Theresa Sanders died suddenly in Vancouver leaving behind her grieving family including her husband, Liam Sanders (died August 16^th) and their three beloved children, a daughter in B.C. and Cullen and Jamie in Winnipeg.

Tami and Liam met as teenagers at Argyle High School and loved each other until the end. After marrying, Tami attended the University of Manitoba where she received her B.A.  As the first person in her family to attend University, she was very proud of the fact that she had been able to achieve this milestone.  She subsequently took accounting classes and became a bookkeeper.  She and Liam moved to Oak Bay, Victoria where they started a successful painting business, Coral Painting, and raised their three children.  They eventually moved back to Winnipeg where Tami found she missed B.C. and decided to move back. Despite the physical distance, their love stayed strong.

Tami considered the Sanders’ family to be her chosen family. Noreen loved Tami like a daughter and remembers meeting her at 14 when she became an integral part of the family. At Liam and Tami’s wedding Liam’s father toasted Tami, saying she was already family, already his daughter. As such, she leaves behind her mother-in-law Noreen, Colin (Gail), Shauna (Daniel), Kevin (Alex), Ian, Maura (David), Sheila, Fiona, an aunt Barbara Smith, and many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. As her aunt said upon hearing of Tami’s death – “everyone loved Tami”.

Tami was enormously proud of her children including a daughter who became a social worker with a commitment, based on her parents’ influence, to help others, her oldest son Cullen who enjoys creating and listening to music and being with friends and family. Cullen loved spending time with his mum and cherishes memories of her singing “You Are My Sunshine” to him and her daughter Jamie, who has gone back to school to become a Community Services Worker after training and working as a hairdresser for many years.

Tami was a dedicated and loving mother and homemaker.  She unreservedly loved all children including her nieces and nephews, was happiest in the kitchen baking and cooking for her extended family and got enormous pleasure out of gardening.  Being at home with Liam and her children was her happy place. She was strong, resourceful, free-spirited, and often put other people and their happiness ahead of her own. She was sincere about wanting those around her to be happy.

Tami always had a smile on her face and looked at the positives in life; her attitude was one of gratefulness for her family and positivity – she knew things would always get better.  Some of her favourite sayings were “Make a memory” and “Treat others the way you want to be treated” and she lived her life that way.

Tami loved, and was loved by, her family wholeheartedly. She is missed terribly.