ElizabethAnn SOVIS

SOVIS, Elizabeth Ann On Friday, July 14, 2017, at 3:00 p.m., the family of Elizabeth Ann Sovis of Edmonton, Alberta, will hold a memorial service at Central Queens United Church, Hunter River, Prince Edward Island. This will be followed by a time of meditation and prayer at the death site on Rennies Road and a reception in the church hall. All are welcome. Five years ago, Elizabeth died suddenly while on a three-week Trans Canada Trail cycling holiday. Moments after leaving the trail in Hunter River, she was struck and killed by a motor vehicle. She is survived by an adoring family: her husband Edmund A. Aunger; her sons Edmund S. Aunger (Linda), Gregory A. Aunger (Colleen), Richard K. T. Aunger (Colette); her sister Millie Jeffery (Norm); her nephews Ron Jeffery and Doug Jeffery (Doreen); her nieces Melanie Moses (James) and Lisa Brant (Jacob). Since her death, Elizabeth has become grandmother to Hannah Elizabeth, Helena Rose and Edmund Paul. She was predeceased by her parents: Stephen Sovis (1903-2004) and Judith Sovis (1908-2011). Elizabeth was born on February 25, 1949 in Toronto, Ontario. She attended Willowdale Middle School and Northview Heights Secondary School in Toronto. She was a graduate of the University of Toronto (Bachelor in Modern Languages), the University of New Brunswick (Bachelor in French-Language Education) and the University of Alberta (Master of Speech-Language Pathology). She also studied French at the University of Toulouse (France) and German at the University of Zurich (Switzerland). Early in her career, Elizabeth taught French and English at Salisbury Composite High School in Sherwood Park, Alberta, and French at Athabasca University. Later, she worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist in French and English schools throughout the Province of Alberta. She also supervised the practical training of many French-speaking students in the University of Alberta’s Speech-Language Pathology program. Elizabeth was a trained vocalist who once dreamed of becoming an opera singer; she was an accomplished linguist, speaking English, French, German and Slovak. She participated in a wide range of physical activities, including cross-country skiing, mountain backpacking and bicycle touring. Elizabeth was loving and generous, beautiful and brilliant, determined and courageous. She profoundly touched the lives of many friends and acquaintances. Her family would like to express its sincere gratitude for the loving support offered by so many well-wishers in the immediate aftermath of this tragic accident and in subsequent years. Elizabeth believed that it was dangerous for cyclists to ride on roads and she was appalled by the growing motorisation of the Trans Canada Trail. Please sign our petition calling on the Government of Canada to establish minimum standards for the quality and safety of the Trans Canada Trail, and, in particular, to ensure that this trail is a genuinely non-motorized and world-class greenway: www.ridethetrail.ca