Nurse, Wife, Mother

Born: 1937-11-09
Died: 2023-01-07 in Hamilton, Ontario
Interred: Holy Sepulchre, Burlington

Sandy was born Elizabeth Adams in Winnipeg, Manitoba 1937 to Orlee Adams, and given up for adoption in the spring of 1938 to William & Annie Starratt. She and her older (adopted) sister Carol grew up in Hudson, then moved to Kenora, Ontario. Sandy graduated from Winnipeg General Nursing College in the spring of 1959 where she met life long friends, still touching base the Christmas before her passing. Her first nursing post was in Thompson, Manitoba where she met Steve Cribbin who worked building the town. They married November 18, 1960 in Winnipeg.

After the wedding Steve was transferred to the Toronto area, there they had their daughter Erin Lea on January 8, 1964, and Sandy retired from nursing. The young family moved to the Burlington area, where Sean Michael was born April 4, 1967. They lived in Burlington until the early 70’s moving to Dundas, Ontario. Steve worked and supervised various projects at Dofasco Steel Mills in Hamilton, while Sandy brought up the kids and took up pottery, ceramics and other crafts. In the early 80’s she re-trained and re-registered as an R.N. She found work at the Canadian Red Cross, collecting from donors at pop up clinics.

After her husbands Steves’ death in 1997 she retired from the Red Cross taking time for her grandchildren Caitlyn and Micheal, friends and travelling east and west thru Canada and abroad. After her grandchildren were born, she decided to search for her birth mother. Orlee was living in Toronto for many years and they found each other in 2001-2003. Orlee died of a stroke in Feb 2003. Sandy had many ailments as she aged, but she rarely complained or let it stop her from enjoying family, friends and trying new things. She enjoyed Christmas 2022 with family when her failing health caught up with her early in 2023 passing peacefully at Hamilton General with family at her side. XO