Sheila Joan PATERSON

1926 - 2019

PATERSON Sheila Joan (nee Lane) September 18, 1926 - February 2, 2019 Sheila's angel took her gently from us on a lovely evening. Born to Martha Alvera Cocker and Sidney James Lane in Vancouver, Sheila loved her childhood years in Kerrisdale with her sisters Pat and Maureen, summer camps on Keats Island and biking down to Boundary Bay with her close B4 (Boundary Bay Butt Bums!) friends. She was a gifted pianist and had fond memories of her teacher, Louise Latimer. As a teenager, Sheila first met David Paterson. They enjoyed wonderful times together up the mountain and at Woodlands and became engaged. Fate intervened and she married Gerald McDonald and had three children - Lane, Pamela and Shannon. As an army officer's wife, she traveled across Canada and all over Europe, which she enjoyed enormously. After her marriage ended, Sheila reconnected with and married her childhood sweetheart, David, and became a step-mother to his three children, Christopher, Pam and Kim. Since childhood, Sheila enjoyed the theatre, acting and always had a flair for the dramatic. She was a talented writer, authoring two plays. Always involved in her children's school plays and in amateur theatre, Sheila took up acting seriously later in life and lived her dream of becoming a professional and successful actress, acting on stage in London's West End and all across Canada as well as in many movies and TV series. Sheila was a lifelong social justice activist standing up passionately and fighting for the dispossessed and persecuted. And she was a political activist who committed years and countless hours to her beloved New Democratic Party. And, when asked, Sheila bravely ran as a provincial candidate in 2001. She was also committed to the work of the Council of Canadians, the Metro Vancouver Alliance, the Ecumenical Committee for Social Responsibility and the Diocese of New Westminster Eco Justice Unit. Sheila was a voracious reader on many subjects but especially on religion and current world affairs. She went back to school to get the degree she always wanted, graduating from SFU in 1998. She loved animated debate at the dinner table and will forever be remembered for her strong opinions. Sheila's powerful faith was also important to her. Weekly, she would devoutly drive (even at 91) to St. James Anglican Church in the Downtown Eastside. But more than anything Sheila will be remembered as the most wonderful mother whose heart was always full of love, who was always there, and who was wise beyond imagine. She loved her children so deeply and was proud of them. Sheila was brave, often fearless; she was full of love and joy and kindness. Her life is marked by many remarkable accomplishments - actor, activist, politician, musician, debater, wife and mother. She was a trail blazer and a role model. The world is a better place because of her and we are better for having known and loved her. Sheila will be received into St. James Anglican Church, 303 E. Cordova Street, Vancouver on Friday, February 15th at 5:00 pm for Vespers. Her requiem mass will be held at St. James Anglican Church on Saturday, February 16th at 2:00 pm with a reception to follow in the Parish Hall. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. James Anglican Church would be gratefully accepted (office@stjames.bc.ca).