Shirley Patricia Sager
(nee Scrivener)
Apr. 6, 1926 – Sept. 24, 2014
Beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Shirley passed away in her 88th year at Lady Minto Hospital on Salt Spring Island, September 24, 2014.
Daughter to Joseph Vincent Scrivener and Effie Somerville, and sister to Gay Wisdom, Joyce Daykin, and Jack Scrivener, Shirley was born April 6, 1926 in Victoria and raised in Vancouver. Shirley attended Kitsilano and Point Grey Schools, where she started the Phia Kai girls club and made life-long friends. After high school, Shirley attended the University of British Columbia and worked as a stewardess for Canadian Pacific Airlines, a job she loved—Shirley knew the name of every passenger before the plane landed! Shirley was an avid seamstress and made all her own clothes as a young woman. She had a beautiful alto voice and sang on the radio, at the Cave Night Club, and with the Thetis Club performers.
Shirley married Henry Sager on September 11, 1953, and the two had a great love affair for 61 years. Shirley and Hank started Sager’s Maple Shop in Ambleside, West Vancouver, in 1953, and later opened shops in Dundarave, Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, and Alberta. Shirley was the mother of four children, a member of the West Vancouver United Church for over forty years, and a cherished friend to many. She was gracious and compassionate, and never had a harsh word to say about anyone. Shirley and Hank traveled the world and had many happy times in Hawaii, a place they loved and shared with their family. In their later years, Shirley and Hank lived on Salt Spring Island and in Victoria.
Shirley will be deeply missed by her family: her husband, Henry; her children, Gail Garrett (Charles), Greg Sager (Lynne), Mark Sager (Kathy), and Suzanne Zacharias (Don); her grandchildren Scott Coltart (Elizabeth), Stacey Carter (John), Jason Robertson, Erica Zacharias, Aubrey Zacharias, Amy Zacharias (Dan Gross), Hayden Sager, and Mikayla Sager; her great grandchildren Chelsea Carter and Jack Gross, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
In the words of her dear Henry, “Shirley was an angel on earth.” A private family service was held on Salt Spring Island, Saturday Sept 27th, 2014.