Roger Victor Martin Sandford

Roger Sandford was born in Portsmouth, England. He was raised as the youngest of seven

children. He and his younger siblings were evacuated during WWII and, in the face of tumult and

poverty, Roger chose to leave home at his first opportunity, moving to London to attend school. In

London, he met his future wife, Pauline Kenneally, and the two were married on Boxing Day,

1959, in Cork, Ireland.

Roger and Pauline lived in England for a decade as Roger certified as a teacher. They had

one son, Luke, before emigrating to Canada; a dream of Roger’s since his first summer job, as a

surveyor in Northern Ontario. The three arrived in Canada in time for Expo’67 and moved to

Bow Island, Alberta for Roger’s teaching contract, driving west the following year to the Cowichan

Valley on Vancouver Island where he would spend his career as a high school math and computer

science teacher. Their second child, Hilary, was born in the Valley and Roger delighted in his

family (and later in his role as grandpa), something he felt he’d never experienced as a child.

Roger was always academically minded, and, during his career, he pursued three more

degrees – a M.Ed. from SFU, a M.Sc. in mathematics from UBC, and MA in counselling

psychology from UVic. He was a voracious reader, loved the movies, always had seasons tickets to

local theaters, and was a late convert to the joys of opera. Roger loved athletics, playing squash,

tennis and table tennis, taking up windsurfing when he turned fifty, and never missing his daily

walks with his dog. He was a fixture at the Crystal Pool, attending faithfully every weekday when he

retired and vying to be the first in line when the facility opened in the mornings!

Roger didn’t consider himself to be social, preferring the company of his family, but he was

always in groups: the Agape group, the Men’s group, Victoria Folk dancers, the Dream group, Sufi

dancing, and the Jane Austen Society of North America. His most successful exploration was to

attend the Unitarian Universalist congregation of Victoria where he was a dedicated member for

nearly 40 years.

Roger was a complicated man, respected by many, liked by lots, and loved by a few. He

was outspoken and opinionated, funny and helpful, kind and cheerful. He loved to come to

peoples’ aid and defense, at all scales, and has chosen to support Amnesty International and

Doctors without Borders as his primary charities.

Roger is deeply missed by Pauline, Luke, and Hilary, son-in-law James, and grandchildren

Spencer and Eileen. The family is grateful to the staff at Beacon Hill Villa who expertly cared for

him in his final two years with Alzheimer’s disease. Thanks to the Hul'q'umi'num-speaking Peoples

and the province of British Columbia who welcomed and supported Roger as an immigrant on his

chosen land.