Seymour and District Art Society members were saddened to learn their founding member Sandra Wilson passed away on Sunday, August 23, aged 87.
The formation of an art society within the town became her vision after she learned from then Seymour Shire president Noel Smythe that the Old Courthouse was an unused, vacant building, and he suggested that it might make an ideal gallery space.
After holding a meeting on a chilly winter’s night, attended by an enthusiastic bunch of about 20 people, fires in the long unused fireplaces filled the building with smoke and Sandra ignited the idea of forming an art society within Seymour and the surrounding district.
This concept was met with much enthusiasm and the society came into being in 1987 with Sandra as the first president.
From those humble beginnings, the society has become a thriving organisation.
Members will be celebrating 40 years of the community group next year.
Sandra was a brilliant artist and teacher.
She was highly proficient in numerous mediums, with the result being that her impressive artwork was created using watercolour, oil, acrylic and pastel.
Until retirement, she was a much loved and respected art teacher at Seymour High School, and many members of the Seymour community will recall being taught by Mrs Wilson.
Sandra also acted as steward in the art section of the Seymour Agricultural and Pastoral Show for a number of years.
She had a vast knowledge of art and art history, and an infectious personality that endeared her to all who met her.
She and her husband, Jim (deceased), lived in Tehan St, Seymour for all their married life.
Sandra had been living in Queensland for the past few years, where family were able to care for her after she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
To quote her daughter, Jan, “after 17 years of living with Alzheimer’s disease, it may have taken her life, but it never took her spirit”.
“Her room at St Andrews care facility, where she spent the last three years, was decorated with her special paintings on the wall,” Jan said.
“It was a lovely place for her to be in her last years if she couldn’t be in Tehan St, Seymour.”
Our thoughts are with Sandra’s daughters, Jan and Alison, as well as her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Vale Sandra Dawn Wilson (August 15, 1939 — August 23, 2026).
11°C