Susan Elizabeth Jackel (née Lyons), passed away peacefully on Oct 13, 2024, at the Silverstone Hospice unit in Sechelt, British Columbia.
In the 82 years of her life Sue was many things: a professor, an activist, a mother, a sister, and a devoted friend. She was best known on the Sunshine Coast as a persuasive and effective advocate for mental health services, seniors’ housing, and community living.
She was born May 20, 1942, in Hamilton, Ontario. The family moved often, but she had two constants in her life. The first was that every new town had a tennis court, where she won many junior championships. The other constant was the family cottage on a little island in McGregor Bay – summers spent without power or running water but filled with non-stop adventures in canoes with other independent-minded children.
Valedictorian at Oakville-Trafalgar high school, she continued her academic success with her undergrad and Masters in English at the University of Toronto. After completing her Ph. D. at the University of Alberta, she was a driving force behind the success of the nascent Canadian Studies department. She took early retirement as a Professor of Canadian Studies and Women's Studies after a career filled with teaching awards and a reputation for strategic political thinking.
She moved to Sandy Hook in 1997, and while she may have left academia behind she brought with her a passion for teaching and an unparalleled clarity of thinking, which she immediately applied to the unsuspecting organizations on the Coast.
Her persistence was legendary; some might say ‘relentless’. To her allies she was shrewd. To her opponents… she didn't think of them as opponents, merely people that she hadn’t yet brought around through sheer force of reason. Like a good-natured glacier, she methodically demolished all that stood in her way.
She was generous not only with her advice, but with her actions. When she no longer needed her car, she donated it to the Car Co-op. After her diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, she kicked the local support group into high gear, and instigated an actual kickboxing class for people with PD and their caregivers.
Deeply committed to equity, justice, and human rights, she made it her mission to bring together people who needed help with those who could help them. Her constant efforts for seniors’ housing and community living earned her the Queen's Diamond Jubilee medal in 2013. In the final year of her life, she was Honorary Chair of the 50 Women campaign for the Sunshine Coast Community Services Society.
Sue will be missed, but her legacy is visible in the people and organizations she left behind. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the 50 Women campaign (https://50women.ca) or the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society (https://www.coasthospice.com).
Sue is survived by her brothers Jock and Bob, and her children Cath, Brian and Chris. She was predeceased by her parents, and former husband David Jackel.
Our family would especially like to thank Liezle, Carlos, and the entire Sanson family; the Sunshine Coast Hospice Society; and the staff of both the Sechelt Hospital and the Silverstone Care Centre for their extraordinary care and dedication.
