Mary (Ryan) Sinhuber

Mary Sinhuber (nee Ryan) was born on May 16th 1941, the third and final child of John and Mabel Ryan. She grew up in the small town of Attunga not far from Tamworth in NSW, Australia. As a child, Mary attended Catholic School and during this time, she developed the deep roots of her life-long faith in, and involvement with, that Catholic Church. When wanderlust struck Mary in her twenties, she boarded a passenger ship bound for the United States in the hope that she could obtain a secretarial position in California. As luck or providence would have it, upon her arrival in North America Mary discovered that her desired job was unavailable. Always adventurous, Mary and a friend embarked on a journey to drive and deliver a vehicle to Vancouver BC. While in Vancouver, fate intervened again and Mary bumped into Jule Moller, a friend she had made on the ship and the two became roommates. Jule and Mary would remain life-long friends. Finding employment in Vancouver was easier than it had been in California, and Mary accepted a secretarial position at Vancouver City Hall. During this time, Mary met Henry Sinhuber, an immigrant to Canada from Germany, who was studying at the University of British Columbia. Mary and Henry married in 1972 and the following year, Henry accepted a teaching position in Sicamous BC. Buoyed up by the knowledge that Sicamous did indeed have houses with indoor plumbing and that the school district was likely hiring secretaries, Mary and Henry made their way to the Shuswap and settled in Salmon Arm B.C. In spite of her life-long dislike of the cold, Mary considered it one of the best decisions the couple ever made. 

While in Salmon Arm, Mary was active in many clubs and community organizations in addition working as an administrative assistant in School District 83. She lent her considerable sewing talents to Shuswap Theatre in the costume department. Mary joined the Salmon Arm Tennis Club where she spent time happily enjoying both the sport and socializing. In the winter, Mary braved the cold as a member of the Larch Hills Ski Club. Most importantly, Mary belonged to the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church family where she was a catechism teacher, a children’s liturgy leader, a reader and a member of the Catholic Women’s League until her death. Mary’s friends will remember her love of reading, her sense of humour and the support and love of her presence.

Mary passed away on Saturday, June 6th at Shuswap Lake General Hospital in the company of family. She is predeceased by her parents (John and Mabel Ryan), older siblings Marie Vaughn and Frank Ryan of Australia and her husband of forty-seven years, Heinrich (Henry) Sinhuber. Mary is survived by her daughter Erika Sinhuber (Ben Macauley), grandsons Glen and Russell Macauley, and extended family Chris and Raewyn Sinhuber of Cranbrook and their children Andrea Sinhuber (Jason Carr), Axel Sinhuber and Nicole Lerner (nee Sinhuber, Nolan Lerner) and family. The Sinhuber family extends their gratitude to the nurses and staff at Shuswap Lake General Hospital, especially Dr. Nadia Widmer. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Parish in association with Bowers Funeral Home, with a reception to follow in the parish hall on Saturday, June 20th at 10:00 a.m.