Peacefully at her daughter’s home in Ottawa in the early hours of Tuesday, May 31, 2022, Sandra Anne (née MacDonald) MacMillan of Ottawa, age 71 years.
Born June 10, 1950, in Cornwall, Ontario, Sandra was raised in North Stormont, mostly on Avonmore Road, the eldest of Dan and Anita MacDonald’s seven children. After graduating from high school in 1969, she spent a year attending Ottawa Teachers’ College before returning home and working at the Courtaulds mill in Cornwall. She married Ron MacMillan in 1972 and moved to Cornwall, where she became a stay-at-home mother to their three children. Once all her “kidlets” were in school she went back to school herself, graduating from St. Lawrence College in 1991 with a diploma in business administration. After separating from Ron in 1990, Sandra and her two younger children moved to Orleans in 1993. She worked as the Church Administrator at Glebe-St. James United Church in Ottawa from 1992 until her retirement in 2015, making many friends among the congregation.
An avid genealogist, Sandra was the MacDonald family historian. She was a keen Scrabble player and often wanted to play her opponents’ tiles as well as her own. She liked to give advice, which her kids affectionately referred to as “Sandy’s helpful hints.” She also enjoyed reading and playing games, especially with her grandchildren.
Sandy will be dearly missed by her children, Shannon MacMillan of Cornwall, Amanda MacMillan (Jason Pugh) of Ottawa, and James MacMillan (Grace Chan) of Vaughan. Loving grandmother of Nash and Callie MacMillan and step-grandmother of Dylan Dupuis (Anne). She is survived by her siblings Brian MacDonald (Claudette), Tari Jewer (Gary), and Gary MacDonald (June), all of Long Sault; Wayne MacDonald of Vancouver Island, BC; Donnie MacDonald (Debra) of Avonmore; and Wilma MacDonald of Prescott; as well as several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents, Daniel and Anita (née Cartier) MacDonald, and by her former husband, Ronald MacMillan.
Special thanks to all the members of the palliative care team who helped look after Sandra during her final weeks. Cremation has taken place. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family at the Funeral Co-operative of Ottawa, 419 St. Laurent Blvd, on Sandy’s birthday, Friday, June 10, 2022, from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Masks will be required for the funeral service, which will be held at Glebe-St. James United Church, 650 Lyon St. South, Ottawa, at 2:30 pm on Saturday, June 11, 2022. Reception to follow in the church hall. Burial of cremated remains in the MacDonald family plot at Our Lady of the Angels Cemetery in Moose Creek at a later date.
As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society or Pancreatic Cancer Canada would be appreciated by the family. Flowers are also welcome — except for lilies which, according to Sandy, “are beautiful but they stink.”