YESS Champion

Remembering Sandra with Mary-Lou Cleveland

Sandra Munn lived a life filled with the joy and passion of music, a life shaped by courage, vision, discipline, generosity, expectation, and standards. A warm personality, she was funny, outgoing, and vivacious. Deeply committed to a journey of continuous learning and growth, Sandra was never shy about encouraging a personal excellence; of daring to create that spark of change within one’s own sphere of daily life and influence. Most importantly, to be wholly inspired to recognize how one act of kindness has the power to lift someone up the whole of their life.

Sandra passed away on September 20, 2023, at age 89. Mary-Lou Cleveland, her colleague and very dear friend, graciously shares some reflections and insights on the life and philanthropy of Sandra Munn.

Sandra was a friend, an advocate, and a mentor. When you were her friend, you were a friend for life.

Sandra was a master teacher, and I and others are grateful for the opportunity of having been in one of her piano classes and private piano lessons. All of her students knew there was no try. Just do.

Sandra loved her family dearly. She was wonderful at providing presents to all of her godchildren on their birthdays. She loved writing and receiving letters. She loved road trips, driving, and reading books—especially spy thrillers. Sandra was someone who was always there if there was a crisis. She loved telephoning friends in Victoria, Vancouver, England, Australia, and Italy, just to keep in touch.

Sandra was an Anglican through and through. She loved everything about All Saints’ Cathedral: the liturgy, the wonderful music and organist, and the

altar guild. She was generous to a fault if someone was having a hard time or first time in the congregation. She was the first to welcome them and take them to lunch at the Commodore Restaurant on Jasper Ave.

If a student needed money to buy a grand piano or go to school, she was right there to assist. You didn’t have to be a musician. Students and others have enjoyed her generosity and continue to do so through the Alexandra M. Munn Scholarship Fund at the Edmonton Community Foundation.

Sandra leaves a legacy through her students. Her gift of loving music has been seeded across Canada and the United States through students who are conductors, performers, accompanists, singers, teachers, composers, or the

many who are able to simply enjoy playing and supporting the arts.

Sandra loved the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and was a long-time subscriber. She loved the Youth Orchestra and Richard Eaton Singers and supported them with donations and her presence.

Before the move from her condo in the River Valley to Canterbury Manor, Sandra had mostly lived in Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue area. And so, she was attuned and familiar with seeing youth coming and going near YESS over the years as she would have travelled through and around the area. As an annual YESS donor, Sandra had a lasting impact for 25 years on the lives of young people seeking support and services in the face of critical situations and life-changing circumstances.

Intentional and informed, Sandra understood that estate planning documents provided an opportunity to leave clear and precise instructions regarding her overall final wishes and were also the perfect opportunity to include a gift to those causes that were deeply meaningful to her. YESS is so grateful to Sandra for the depth of her generosity and for making a legacy gift that not only underscored her belief in the youth but also her ability to make an impact for the future. A gift that joyfully makes room for and helps to provide the means to make a difference. 

Alexandra, Pianist Extraordinaire / Photo Courtesy of Mary-Lou Cleveland At age three, she was recognized as a prodigy. Sandra had perfect pitch, the ability to sight read like no other, and exuded a love for performance. Accepted to the Juilliard School on an honorary scholarship in the piano class of Irwin Freundlich in 1953, completing a four-year course in two years! In her third year, Sandra accepted a Teaching Fellowship with the Juilliard Piano Faculty. However, Family and Calgary called her home to Alberta. In 1957, Sandra made her debut with the Calgary Philharmonic, playing Beethoven’s Concerto No.3 to great success. Sandra was invited back many times, playing Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No.2 and later, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. In the summers 1953-59, Sandra Coached pianists and singers at the Banff School of Fine Arts. Then, in 1962, Richard Eaton persuaded her to come to the University of Alberta and teach pianists and singers, encouraging them to be better than they could ever imagine, and created Art Song Classes. Sandra loved performing with colleagues, accompanying and conducting the Richard Eaton Singers, finally leading them to a festival in England, a first trip abroad. Da Camera Singers was created. In 1992, Sandra retired from the University of Alberta. Professor Emeritus not finished yet, Sandra joined the staff at Alberta College Conservatory of Music, teaching pianists, performing with other musicians and creating Art Song Classes. Retiring in 2018, Sandra created a collaborative Bach Project for pianists and singers, successfully launched at All Saints’ Cathedral. She was recognized by the Edmonton Arts and Cultural Hall of Fame, 2001, and Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, 2002.

We strive to do all we can to ensure that YESS will always be here for youth who needs us, as a place where youth are inspired to look to the future with hope, purpose, and the courage to strive for a better tomorrow.

Will you consider including YESS in your estate plans? Every legacy gift to YESS is a thoughtful gift from the heart, a meaningful part of your life story, and a way to help YESS thrive in its commitment to champion youth who reach out in their need for healing, relief, and guidance.

There are many options for planned giving. Some donors have made a contribution to the YESS Endowment Fund; others have established a separate fund in their family’s name; some have designated YESS as a beneficiary in their will or through an insurance policy. There are many ways to plan your gift. Some offer tax advantages today, and others through your estate.

We’d be happy to work with you, your family, and your advisors on a confidential basis to ensure that your gift meets your philanthropic goals.

If you have already provided for a legacy gift to YESS in your estate plans, we’d be delighted to learn in confidence about your future plans. Thank you for your life-changing gift! It will surely help to enable struggling young people to heal, improve their wellbeing, find connection and stability, and realize healthy futures.

To learn more about making a legacy gift, please contact Eileen Papulkas by phone at 780.468.7070 x298 or by email at eileen.papulkas@yess.org

by Jan Colter

Suzanne and Donald Colter gifted the very best of themselves to their family, intentionally passing on a legacy rich and consistent with their beliefs and values: the importance of being kind and compassionate, helping others without expectation, facing challenges with courage and sacrifice, being truly present, and finding joy in simplicity and optimism. With unwavering love, Sue and Don had a profound impact on their children, grandchildren, and all those whose lives they touched.

Remembering a loved one is one of the most honourable things you could do. Their daughter, Jan Colter, reflects on some of the countless important life lessons imparted by her parents to help shape the lives of herself, her siblings, and their families.

A good start in life / Photo courtesy of Jan Colter

I only learned about my mom’s philanthropy when she and my dad (Sue and Don) both developed and had major health problems twenty years ago, at almost the same time. I took over their financial affairs and saw for the first time the quiet and consistent donations that she had been giving for years and years. Until then, the gifts she gave closer to home were significant—financial to be sure, but more often gifts of time, attention, thoughtfulness.

Sue’s philanthropy centered on supporting the arts and improving the lives of those less fortunate than herself. While the list of charities was eclectic, her focus was on women, families, and youth in need… done with unspoken determination. She obviously saw “family” as much bigger than just her own!

Sue Colter: More beautiful as she aged / Photo courtesy of Jan Colter

We always knew the force of her sense of family—in every aspect of our lives. My mom felt fortunate to have lived most of her life in a relatively privileged environment, but you’d never have known it if you met her. She was quiet, hard-working, determined, unpretentious, and generous. Her kids and theirs knew that her time was all for them when they were with her. Nothing was more important to her than that we felt special, loved, and heard! She was absolutely beloved in return.

Sue spent her earliest years alone with her own mother, until her mom remarried, moved, and added two new stepsisters to their family. She left home at 18 for university in Edmonton and married Don right after graduation. They spent their early married life in small town Alberta, where he was the junior of only a couple of town doctors. She soon found herself raising three small children, at the tender age of 23. Brooks was very small in the early 1950s and Don worked long hours. I think those years were challenging and a little lonely for a young, city girl from Calgary. She met the challenge … “super mom” kicked in and we all benefitted.

Sue, Don, and the Grands / Photo courtesy of Jan Colter

After ten years they moved to Edmonton, where they enjoyed a happy and full life. We owe so much of the quality of our lives to having parents like them, who supported us completely and shared with us their many interests. After their kids were educated and launched, they continued to enrich the lives and welfare of their grandchildren in the years to come. Many of our childhood friends saw Sue as their second mom, and my dad never stopped being the kindly small town doctor he ever was.

I truly think that Mom’s early years as a girl and then young mom instilled in her the importance of support in vulnerable times. Hence her focus on her own family and helping us successfully launch from a solid and caring home. Hence her long support for women and youth, the core of our society, who deserve so much but sadly don’t always get the support they need and deserve. She tried to help them during her lifetime, and again by including them along with us in her will. YESS is the most pertinent and deserving organization she could have chosen. 

We strive to do all we can to ensure that YESS will always be here for youth who needs us, as a place where youth are inspired to look to the future with hope, purpose, and the courage to strive for a better tomorrow.

Will you consider including YESS in your estate plans? Every legacy gift to YESS is a thoughtful gift from the heart, a meaningful part of your life story, and a way to help YESS thrive in its commitment to champion youth who reach out in their need for healing, relief, and guidance.

There are many options for planned giving. Some donors have made a contribution to the YESS Endowment Fund; others have established a separate fund in their family’s name; some have designated YESS as a beneficiary in their will or through an insurance policy. There are many ways to plan your gift. Some offer tax advantages today, and others through your estate.

We’d be happy to work with you, your family, and your advisors on a confidential basis to ensure that your gift meets your philanthropic goals.

If you have already provided for a legacy gift to YESS in your estate plans, we’d be delighted to learn in confidence about your future plans. Thank you for your life-changing gift! It will surely help to enable struggling young people to heal, improve their wellbeing, find connection and stability, and realize healthy futures.

To learn more about making a legacy gift, please contact Eileen Papulkas by phone at 780.468.7070 x298 or by email at eileen.papulkas@yess.org