Obituary of Sonya Rose
Sharon “Sonya” Rose, age 49, of Sussex, New Brunswick passed away peacefully with loved ones by her bedside in Palliative Care Unit at Saint John Regional Hospital on Thursday, February 17, 2022.
Sonya was born in Flower’s Cove, Newfoundland to Faye and Pierce Rose on August 7, 1972. She was the youngest of their three daughters. Sonya is survived by her two older sisters, Roxanne Robinson and her husband Robert of Cornhill, NB and Angela Megarity of Quispamsis, NB, her father Pierce Rose of Sussex, NB, and her beloved nephews and niece: Dylan Hatfield and his fiancée Kenzie LeBlanc of Nanaimo, BC, Kaleb Robinson and his fiancée Safiya Adam of Cornhill, NB, Liam Robinson of Cornhill, NB, Jenna Megarity of Hampton, NB, as well as her loyal four-legged fur-baby, Cooper.
Sonya is predeceased by her mother Gloria “Faye” Rose (Stevens) in 2015 and two siblings who died at birth. They are reunited now in heaven with our Heavenly Father.
Sonya thought the world of her niece and nephews, and she was always the fun aunt. The kids would often visit her for a weekend and in some cases, they would stay a week. They were always welcome at Sonie’s place and they loved to spend time with her. She was a free-spirited aunt who made every stay an adventure. They would talk with her about any life issue as they always received non-judgemental advice. Dylan lived with her on and off in his teens, always finding his way back. Kaleb describes her best, as “Sonie was all the fun parts of my mom.” Liam had plans to travel with her and take a trip, maybe even move back to Newfoundland someday. Sonie helped Jenna do a resume and land her dream job only a few short weeks ago. Sonie made each one of them feel special and loved unconditionally. She loved them all like they were her very own.
Sonya leaves behind a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends in Newfoundland where she was born and moved back to live from 2014-2016.
Sonya had friends everywhere, too numerous to mention but it is very likely they will always remember her kindnesses. She had a genuine easy way with people, a very quick wit and an immeasurable heart of gold. She made everyone feel welcome in her home and in her heart. If you knew Sonya, she either helped you or touched your life in some way. She was generous, kind, and humble, and she genuinely cared about people. She was the kind of woman to literally give you the shirt off her back. If she saw someone in need, she would empty her own cupboards to help them out. She would often have fundraiser auctions to help a family after a fire or around the holidays. “Any of her friends will say that she omitted a warm feeling of comfort when they were around her.” Never have I met someone with so little help so many; that was “our Sonie.”
Sonya moved to Sussex, New Brunswick in the summer of 1985. She attended the old Sussex Junior High School and graduated from Sussex Regional High School in 1990. Her first job was at Sussex McDonalds when it opened in 1987. She waitressed at several local restaurants over the years including The Fairway, Rory’s Mountain Inn, The Bluebird, and Ed’s Submarine. Sonya moved back to Fort McMurray, Alberta in 1991. There, she waitressed at The Early Bird Restaurant and managed the downtown location of Boston Pizza. She went to Keyano College that same year and took a Class 1 Trucking Course. Sonya started her trucking career driving a gravel truck, working on a road expansion into Anzac. She landed a job driving a double tanker but that only lasted a couple of days as she had to climb on top of the tankers to check them over. Sonya had a lifelong real fear of heights; she didn’t even like driving on a bridge as a child. I am sure this is something she eventually outgrew as a long-haul driver. Sonya went on to work for Brookville Transport of Saint John, NB, Keenan Transportation of Woodstock, NB, Veri Trucking of Exeter, ON, QuikX of Mississauga, ON, and Sunbury Transport of Saint John, NB. Sonya was proud of her Blueberry days with Brookville Transport, and it was here she earned the handle “Sharkey”. During her years with Keenan’s, Sonya trained several female truck drivers. She trained one young lady for six months, Beth Hayward, and the two would become the best of friends. They always had a story to tell of one adventure or other. Some of those stories would raise the hair on the back of your neck. Sonya was quite proud that she had traveled to every province in Canada and all the lower 48 states during her thirteen-year career as a long-haul driver, and all the friends she made along the way.
Sonya was in a trucking accident in 2002 and her doctor took her off the road. She returned to school in 2004-2006 and earned an Administrative Executive Assistant Degree at NBCC in Moncton. She went on to work at various office jobs in her field in Sussex, NB. Sonya managed the Access Centre above the Sussex Post Office. Here she taught computer courses to all ages, from young children to seniors. She also did resumes, cover letters, excel training, developed websites, and taught cyber safety courses in a kid’s summer camp. She was very skilled on the computer. Over the past few years, Sonya became an entrepreneur. She created, owned, and managed an online auction, Sussex & King’s County Online Auction with a clientele base of over 2100 members. She held biweekly auctions for her clients as well as biannual charity auctions. One of her other projects was annual Santa Kits. She loved writing letters to the children and made kits up with activities and small gifts. She loved nothing more than to watch the videos the families would send of the kids receiving the kits and sprinkling the reindeer glitter outside so Santa and his team could find the children’s homes. The kits were sent all over Canada and some to the US and each and every kit was personalized and put together with a large dose of love, paying attention to every little detail.
Sonie was so much to so many from The Auction Lady to Santa Claus to their favorite aunt, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, and friend. She will live on in the hearts of each and every one of us with our cherished memories of her time here with us on earth. We will meet again in “The Sweet by and by”.
A special thank you to Dr. Allaby, Dr. McCutcheon and the nursing staff at the Sussex Health Centre, Dr. Marr and his entire staff in the Internal Medicine Unit and Dr. Williams and nurses in Palliative Care Unit at Saint John Regional Hospital. You all went above and beyond in care and compassion for Sonya during her month long stay.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Wallace Funeral Home, 34 Sunnyside Drive, Sussex, NB (506-433-1176). There will be no service held at this time. The family will hold a Celebration of Life and New Brunswick burial later in the spring. There will also be a Celebration of Life and burial this summer in Newfoundland for friends and family there.
Donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Kidney Foundation of Canada, Diabetes Canada, your local Food Bank or SPCA. Condolences to the family and donations may be made through WallaceFuneralHome.com. Memory candles are available upon request through Wallace Funeral Home in Sussex, NB.
