Sandi Paterson, born and raised in Port Alberni, comes from a family connected to the Royal Canadian Legion for several decades.
Both her parents contributed their efforts to the Second World War. In fact, her father took part on the D-Day invasion of the allied forces on the beaches at Normandy in northern France, and her mother, who held a mechanic license, was a driver whose job was to take the padres (military chaplains) to notify the families of deceased soldiers of their loved ones passing and when she returned to Vancouver, she drove an ambulance picking up the Canadian men who were POW's of the Japanese.
They met in the Valley at the old Athletic Hall building on Beaver Creek Road, which soon after led to their wedding in Victoria. After the war, Mrs. Paterson became a member of the Valleyettes, a drill team that performed at parades and events both in the Alberni Valley and around the province, and eventually both of them became leaders of the Valleyettes.
Sandi's early formal education began at Alberni Elementary School, AW Neill School (now Tsuma-as Elementary School), Alberni District Secondary School and Grade 13. During her teen years, she did a variety of sport activities, including playing basketball for the Athletic Team of Alberni.
Sandi attended the University of Victoria for a year and eventually received her Master's degree in education. And in 1966, she began her 35-year teaching career at Maquinna Elementary School.
This first experience was followed by her teaching work in Prince George and then in Surrey and Squamish, places she taught intermediate levels. She retired in 2001.
In the early 2000s, she met Bruce Proudfoot, a royal engineer from Wales who was also a member of the Legion in Squamish. He became president of the local branch.
The couple married in Cherry Creek at her parents' family home.
“In 2007 Bruce and I moved to Port Alberni and decided to transfer our membership from Squamish to the (Port Alberni) Legion branch in order to continue serving the organization,” she says.
Today, they are both actively involved in the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293. “Bruce is a service officer who spends time assisting veterans in need. He is also a Master of Ceremonies at the Remembrance Day event on November 11, and we both take part in various social programs at Abbeyfield by providing piano music and by singing to the residents," says Sandi.
“As a true Welshman, he is a good singer,” she says jokingly. “I must add that I learned to play the piano when I was a young girl, thanks to a neighbour who taught me how to play by reading music from one book.”
Sandi's affiliation with Abbeyfield started when she read a note in the Sunshine Club newsletter which at the time was inviting seniors to attend a special tea event at the home as part of that year’s “Seniors Week” celebration. During the event, she met Marlene Dietrich, whom she had known from before, and was a longtime member, who told her about the board of directors’ need to recruit new members.
“So, I did, and I joined the board about eight years ago. Since then I have also volunteered hands-on in other areas of the home’s operation. I truly like to help, especially in a place like this because of the family atmosphere I can sense here,” she says.
One of the recent board's projects was the construction and installation of a big size sign on Abbeyfield's east side lawn, a project proposed and advocated by Paterson.
“After paying a visit to Abbeyfield Duncan, I realized how nice their welcoming sign was, so I immediately brought the idea to one of our meetings and as you can see, there it is," she affirms proudly.
(Orlando Delano writes Valley Seniors monthly for the Alberni Valley News)
