September 22, 1942 - February 15, 2019
It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden death of our beloved Syd - mother, sister, aunt, cousin, niece, and friend.
Syd was born in Vancouver in 1942 to Jan and Betty de Bruyn, their eldest child. She attended school at Queen Elizabeth Elementary and Lord Byng High School, and attended UBC.
After finishing her BA, she worked as a Social Worker in Williams Lake, where she met her husband, Bruce Mason. They later moved to Vancouver, where they were married in July, 1967. Their first son, Geoffrey, was born in 1970. Syd and Bruce moved to a "homestead" near Spuzzum in the Fraser Canyon, and their son Ian was born in 1972 in Hope .The family moved to Yale after Geoff started school. Once both the boys were in school, Syd took Library Science courses, and worked in the Chilliwack and Hope libraries for several years. The family lived in Yale until Bruce's death in 2011.
After Bruce's death, Syd moved to Castlegar to be closer to family, especially her parents. She lived with her sister for two years, and then moved in with her mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's. Syd stayed with her mom until 2015, when Betty died. Syd continued to help care for her dad, who lived independently but who was getting very frail. After he entered a care facility, Syd continued to visit him several times a week, and to advocate for his care, until his death in 2017.
While living in Castlegar, Syd worked at the library, and participated in several activities. She belonged to the Garden Club, Al Anon, and she loved to play Scrabble. She had two vegetable gardens that kept her busy in the summer. Syd was always there if you needed help. She was a lovely caring person, accepting and compassionate - just nice to be around. She will be sorely missed.
Sydney was predeceased by her parents, Jan and Betty de Bruyn, her brother Frankie, and her husband Bruce. She is survived by her partner, Bill Carlson, her sons Geoffrey (Adia) and Ian (Jessie), her daughter Selina (Russell Lai), her brother John de Bruyn, sisters Diane Andersson, Mary de Bruyn (Stephen Morris), and Kathy de Bruyn (Angel), 8 grandchildren, nieces and nephews, a great-niece and great-nephew, cousins, aunts and uncles, and friends.
We would like to thank RCMP Sgt. Badry and his partner Constable Schmidt, Coroner Andy Cave, Jordan Wren and the Castlegar Funeral Chapel, and all of Syd's friends, coworkers, and fellow club members for their compassion, support and assistance.
We are planning to hold a Celebration of Life for Sydney on April 20 at the Sandman Inn.