Dorothy Sacuta (nee Anderson)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Dorothy Sacuta (nee Anderson) on September 3^rd, 2025, at the age of 97. Dorothy was much loved and admired by her family and countless friends, and will be greatly missed by her three surviving children, Janet (Terry), Norm (Chris) and Gord (Kristina), along with daughters-in-law Rosalind and Lindy.  She leaves a legacy of 8 grandchildren – Courtney (Chad), Nikki (Alan), Jason, Natalia (Ryan), Emily (Michael), Clare, Tess, and Zoe – and two great grandchildren, Calvin and Maxine.

Dorothy was pre-deceased by her husband Alec (2009), and sons Paul (2013) and Alan (2015). She was the last surviving sibling of a close family of 5 sisters and one brother raised in Medicine Hat, and will also be mourned by countless nieces and nephews across Western Canada with whom she remained close throughout her life.

Dorothy was smart and funny, in the 1940s becoming a working woman after leaving high school – a rarity for her generation.  She worked as the executive secretary for the President of Ogilvie Mills in Western Canada, moving to head offices in Winnipeg and Vancouver, before pining for a return to her beloved family home in Medicine Hat.  The skills she learned, including dictation and typing 150 wpm, made her a boon for her university-bound children by typing their theses and reports.  At 85 years of age, she was caught one evening transcribing CBC’s National news using shorthand – a long lost artform – “just to keep my mind sharp”.

In 1953 she met a young engineer named Alec, who was working as a civilian at Suffield Airforce base.  He took her skating and asked math questions (“just to make sure we won’t have dumb kids”) and they were married in February 1954.  Move followed move, from Regina to Edmonton to Montreal to Winnipeg to Calgary, and finally in 1968, to the final family home in the Duggan neighbourhood of Edmonton.

Her years in Duggan marked a second career renaissance. With her children in school, she applied to work in the newly established Duggan Pharmacy, where she became a beloved colleague and friend, eventually promoted to company bookkeeper and showing a flair for displays and design.

Dorothy remained active as a Brownie instructor (Snowy Owl, so named for her bright, white hair), the Lioness Club of Edmonton, and other charitable groups. Her children sometimes brought up a stunning coincidence: She was born the same year and day as Dear Abby and Ann Landers.  We used to say this was why she was so full of good advice.

We are finding this loss difficult after such a long and productive life, but she prepared us all well for life, both highs and lows.  At Dorothy’s request there will be no funeral service. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice or online in Dorothy’s memory to the Good Samaritan Society (https://gss.org/ways-to-support/donate-in-honour-or-memory/).