Peacefully, with her husband by her side, Sandra Gaudreau passed away on December 22, 2023, in the Brandon Regional Health Center at the age of 47.

 

She leaves to mourn, her husband Jeremy, children Ty and Sage, Mother Sherry, Brothers David (Michelle), Keith and Aiden, many nieces and nephews and many more family members and friends.

 

Sandra was born in Beausejour MB, on June 07, 1976.  Spent her early years around the Selkirk area before moving to Transcona.  In her middle years, she attended Bernie Wolfe school and later high school at Transcona Collegiate.  Throughout high school she enjoyed playing badminton, basketball and hanging out with her friends.  It was in high school where she met her future husband, Jeremy.

 

She enjoyed watching Jeremy play hockey and would tote along her closest group of 3 or 4 friends to go watch the games.  It was certainly noticeable when the group of them were not in the crowd, as they made up half of the paid attendance.  Her favorite games to watch were at the Eric Coy arena where her beloved Railers would most often fall victim to the powerhouse Hawks, but she loved all the fights.  That arena was special to her, as on most nights at Eric Coy, Jeremy would join her in the stands sometime around the middle of the second period.

 

She started out working at Granny’s Bakery in the Grant Park area before landing a job at the Stafford Dental Group.  Around that time, Sandra and Jeremy bought their first house together, a small house in Transcona that they called home for 12 years.  First was Harley the cat, then 2 dogs, Duke & Teka. 

 

In 2003 Sandra and Jeremy were married, in a private ceremony on the beach in the Dominican Republic.  In 2004 they welcomed their son Ty, followed by daughter Sage in 2007.  In the years that followed she took on the added role of chauffeur for the kids soccer, hockey, lacrosse, skating and swimming events. 

 

She spent countless hours at their cottage at Buffalo Point lounging in the sun, playing with the kids in the sand box, feeding the deer and going on long walks up and down the gravel roads with her dogs.  During the winter, she would often sit by the wood stove, relaxing and reading a book as Shrek played on the DVD player for the 9th consecutive time.

 

Part way through 2012, the hustle and bustle of the city seemed to be weighing on her and she decided to move her group out west, to the Elkhorn/Virden area.  She found an acreage south of Elkhorn where she figured her family would flourish. She quickly found work at MNP in Virden as an Administrative Assistant, where she recently received her 10-year service award.  On the acreage, chickens were her favorite, 10 laying hens would be a good start.  The week the baby chicks arrived, barely a combined single hour of sleep was had in the household as Sandra expressed, “Too cold outside for chickens, we’ll put them in the spare bedroom”.  As the weather warmed, out to the barn they went.  Unbeknownst to her, each chicken will lay 1 egg per day, hence on day 1, there are 10 eggs, which seems cool, but by day 5 the kitchen had been overrun with egg containers.

 

After 2 years, she grew tired of the “farming life” and decided to move the family to a quaint little house in the town of Elkhorn.  Here the kids could walk to the rink for hockey practices or to play shinny whenever they wanted.  It was here where she rekindled her love of travelling, the annual family vacation was her favorite event.  She loved planning the trip, the flights, the shuttles, the accommodations.  Cruising the Caribbean was fun, but the Riviera Maya in Mexico was her desired spot.  Most days she started with a brisk walk, while the weather was cool enough to do so.  Then to the beach, where she would relax on a lounge chair.  As the sun began to set, she would shift to the pool to get the last warm rays of the day.  She loved shopping on 5th Avenue in Playa Del Carmen, meticulously scouring every little shop, hoping to find that one unique item that the previous 10 shops did not have, stopping only to have a quick beer at an outdoor bar and just watch the people go by.  After an exhausting search, having found no treasures, she would settle on the same purchase, every time.  Two Mexican blankets for Bart the Rottie and a bottle opener for the fridge.

 

From hockey rink to hockey rink Sandra made many new friendships.  She grew into being such a likeable person from her humble and shy beginnings.  She was always very close with the people at work and maintained many of those friendships right up until the day of her passing.

 

Paco,

You are my world.  I miss you so much.  I am so grateful for the 31 years we’ve had together, for all the victories, the struggles we’ve worked through, the adventures we’ve been on and most of all the love we shared.  I want to thank you for being the best part of my life and staying by my side for all this time.  If you happen to see Duke, Teka or Bart’O up there, please tell them I said Hi.  I will always love you and I will never forget you.

 

Neither flowers, nor donations are needed.  The family asks only for 1 simple thing.  Hug a loved one today!  ‘Cause tomorrow is not a guarantee.

 

In Accordance with her wishes, cremation has taken place and no formal service will be held.