Susan D Adams

Susan Adams passed away peacefully in her sleep on the  29th of February 2024. She had fought lung cancer for the past year and a half. She fought her cancer the same way that she had fought her previous illness, with a cheerful determination. She continued to plan and live her life regardless of the obstacles in her path.

She had lived very happily in British Columbia with her partner of 43 years Bruce LeTouzel. Moving from Carp, Ontario with Bruce and their beloved Border Collie, Kayleigh, to the Sunshine Coast. She became immediately active in a number of local community groups and was a well-known feature of every dog hike and park within driving distance. Many of her greatest friends were made while playing catch with Kayleigh.

Sue was born Susan Dianne Adams to Ross and Phyllis Adams on the 18th of September 1951. As the middle girl of 5 children, Susan was used to a very active home life. Her father was a mechanic with the Canadian military as such her family moved quite often. After one of these moves, Susan met Robert Viens who would go on to become her first husband. With Robert, Susan purchased a home in the hamlet of Arnprior where she met neighbors and lifelong friends Lorna and Daniel Snider along with their children Kristi and Scott. Susan and Robert eventually had 3 children of their own: Ciaran, Stephen, and Justine. Susan and Robert separated shortly after Justine was born.

It was during this period that she began working in the communications industry. She began as a secretary and still single mother of three young children, eventually moving into the role of Human Resources Director for Mitel Semiconductor Inc. one of the largest microprocessor companies in North America. She met her future partner Bruce LeTouzel at this time, the younger brother of her great friend Lorna Snider. She and Bruce bought land in the countryside outside of Ottawa and over the next 20 years they built a one-of-a-kind home amidst the beautiful rolling hills and bucolic landscape of the Ottawa Valley.

At work, she continued to accept challenges moving on to build Akara, an innovative communication start-up before finally realizing her dream of leaving Ontario’s snow belt behind. She had been looking at the green hills and rainy winter forests of BC and saw no sign of frozen winter nights. It was time for another move. She and Bruce settled into their yellow and white home on a hill and she focused on her family, community events, hikes, and her favorite past-time of intense home improvement. She once memorably stole out from under the watchful eye of her partner for an adventurous hike with her oldest son and their dogs that involved pulling herself up a small mountainside using an ancient, anchored rope line, all the while she was undergoing treatment for a heart problem.

There was little that she enjoyed more than a genuine challenge in any aspect of her life. Upon hearing that the local wharf on the Coast was in dire need of repairs she began bolstering the local committee to help fund the work, selling engraved planks to cover the cost that would eventually see a safe, refurbished Davis Bay Wharf. The home improvement tasks that she set for her partner Bruce were equally challenging; from the idea of constructing a curving 20-meter tiered railway tie garden wall at their first home in Ontario, to the renovation of their small bungalow into a lovely expansive retreat on the Sunshine Coast. As a team, they could not be beat.

She grew to love her adopted home province even more so when her youngest daughter Justine moved to BC from Ontario. She was followed shortly afterward by Sue’s own sister Margo, her husband Dave, and their daughter Jade. Sue was able to spend weekends and holidays with her family again.

Her family and friends were her greatest joys, regardless of the distance she kept in touch with all of them. She had a wide-ranging group; from her friends and cousins in England, her nieces, nephews, and life-long friends in Ontario, the Rockies and Nova Scotia. She spoke with all of them regularly. She was certain never to miss a birthday or a Christmas. Especially when her son Stephen began introducing grandchildren into the family, starting with Sebastian and Oliver, and then her daughter Justine introduced Elliot, and finally the youngest of the lot Lily made her appearance. They were always on her mind.

Sue Adams was a brave, brilliant woman, a loving, supportive partner, and a fierce proponent of her family to the very end. She lived and loved well. She never took life for granted and was always aware of the importance of celebrating the wonder in the seemingly innocuous.

She will be greatly missed by all of us who loved her.

Sue will be cremated in accordance with her last wishes. Her family will be holding a springtime memorial service on Vancouver Island with close friends and family.

If you wish to send flowers, we ask instead that you contribute to the BC Cancer Society or to the Oceanside Hospice Society in Parksville, BC in her name.

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