In loving memory of Kaarina Salme Sutherland nee Leppanen who passed away peacefully August 8, 2023 at the QEII Health Sciences Centre VG Site. She was 91.
Kaarina was predeceased by her parents and son Ken. She will be greatly missed by her two daughters Heather and Nancy, grandchildren Jonathan, Sara, Hanna, Haley, sisters Charli and Auna as well as many other family, friends, and community members.
Kaarina grew up in Wanup, Ontario where she was an irreplaceable farm hand, fishing for supper and tending to the animals. She spent most of her years in Falconbridge where she left an imprint on the community with her generous nature. She moved to Halifax in 2015 where she resided with her daughter Nancy and spent many hours gardening and sometimes even landscaping. She loved caring for her grand dogs, walking and enjoying nature. Athletic and somewhat competitive, she was fastidious about recording steps on her Fitbit. With her Nordic poles a blur and her step count constantly rising, she was admired by many in the neighborhood. Kaarina was a woman of strong faith who never failed to treat others with respect. She was a social butterfly, always inviting company and staying in contact using beautiful handwritten letters, creative cards, and lengthy text messages. She was very humble and did not consider herself an academic, but she still holds the house Scrabble record thanks to a triple word score for “ramekins”.
Special thanks to Heather, Hanna, Haley, Tate, AJ and Charli who travelled from Ontario to help and support mom during her battle with cancer. Love you mom until we meet again.