Sylvea was born in Vancouver to immigrant parents from the UK and Sweden. From humble beginnings, she became determined to strike out and “see the world.” The life-changing step in her journey was attending and graduating from UBC Home Economics in 1946.

UBC provided Sylvea with a wonderful base of lifetime friends with similar values and ambitions. She met her beloved husband Harry (1919-2017), also a UBC grad, and would spend the next 70 years devoted to him, sharing adventures with him around the globe.

Sylvea and Harry have three children (all also UBC grads), six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Sylvea’s adventure came full circle when she moved back to UBC and spent the last eight years of her life living happily in Wesbrook Village.

Sylvea’s family is celebrating her outstanding life and love that made 95 trips around the sun. They are doing so with integrity, grace, and above all else a wonderfully warm sense of humour and tremendous cheerful embrace of life’s daily wonders.