Sandra saved my very life in her work as counselor at the University de las Americas, then in Mexico City.  I remember well her little boy and her sadness about leaving Mexico. I am thanking her posthumously for her much needed help at that time;  I have continued to appreciate her over these many years. 

Barbara Pigort Bills

Please accept our heartfelt condolences. Sandra was a dear friend to us. She was someone we admired greatly for her kindness, and the way she cared for people in her life.

She was a great travel companion for our trips to Egypt, Paris, New York and Mexico.

Wishing you Andrik and your family comfort and peace.

Sandra was so much more than a friend to our family; she was a sister to my mother. Thinking back on how they met at such a young age and stayed by each other’s side through everything is a beautiful testament to what true friendship looks like.

I will never forget how she supported my mom through her illnesses with such grace and loyalty. There’s a reason my youngest sister carries her name, we wanted a piece of her spirit with us always. I take comfort in imagining them together again, continuing the amazing friendship they started so long ago.

I unfortunately do not have a picture to share but do have many memories. Sandra came upon my East Vancouver Kundalini Yoga class about 25 years ago. I needlessly told her to take things slow and not to feel any need to keep up with the group – but as I now know, Sandra was not one to back down from a challenge. She not only kept up, she excelled. We started a long friendship that grew from conversations on the relative merits of different Kundalini kriyas and mantras, to discussions on a broad array of spiritual practices.

From there, things evolved to going to concerts and/or meeting in her kitchen with takeout. I recall long conversations on a variety of topics (music, books, politics, personal issues) well into the night.

Sandra and I have met every few months for over 20 years now (hard to believe it’s been that long!). She saw me though the birth of my two kids, supported me through a master’s degree, a change in career, and other personal crossroads.

Sandra was not one who passed judgement – whatever the topic, she asked questions to delve further. We had some great discussions, and I came away from them with a better sense of myself in the process.

Thank you for the companionship Sandra! This loss will take some getting used to. I know, however, that you remain a strong believer in the journey – wherever it takes you – and I am so glad we crossed paths along the way…

My first encounter with Sandra was in 1968 at the University of the Americas in Mexico City.

Sandra was then studying for a master’s in psychology. She had a degree in literature, which I was a keen student of. We became friends, recommending specific books and reading lists to each other – a practice that continued up until this year.

I was introduced to her endearing then very young son Andrik, and heard about Sandra’s family in rural Minnesota and of her life growing up there.

Sandra later credited her 1970 move to Vancouver to my recommending it following a visit I’d made there.

We lost touch with each other after I began working in Ontario and then moved to England. However, while on a trip through Vancouver in 1990, I was delighted to be able to reconnect . . . and it was wonderful to find the magic Sandra radiated remained undiminished despite the passing of the years! I was also pleased to be reacquainted with Andrik, now a fine young man embarking on his own life.

After this, we kept in touch by letter and telephone and would visit each other whenever either of us was passing through the other’s home area. We shared a keen interest in spiritual studies and practice, and these were always a topic in our communications.

Sandra cared greatly for those she knew, for her community and for the world at large. She was fascinated by other cultures and peoples. Her academic life gave her time off for the far-flung travel she loved, exploring the great wide world she was so curious about, and yet these interests never interfered with her love for family and friends.

Sandra’s enthusiasm and appetite for life made it a joy to be with or near her . . . qualities that were contagious to me and others.

I learned from Sandra that forgiveness and compassion for others is really forgiveness and compassion of and for oneself . . . and also that it is never too late to have a happy childhood.

Over these many years, Sandra had become a cornerstone of my inner world, someone ever supportive whom I knew would always be at the other end of a letter, an email, or a WhatsApp chat or call.

While I am still adjusting to her not being here now physically, I feel that the spirit and essence she blessed me and others with has not gone anywhere.

Thank you, Sandra.