Alexander James Matheson, courtesy of family.Courtesy of family
Alexander “Sandy” James Matheson: Father. Husband. Entrepreneur. Storyteller. Born July 8, 1960, in Aurora, Ont.; died Sept. 15, 2025, in Owen Sound, Ont., of lung cancer; aged 65.
“Do it!” was a central theme in Sandy Matheson’s life. It wasn’t just the words he’d use to encourage his kids, his friends and his sisters, Heather and Martha, into embracing the things they might be scared to try. It was the way he encouraged himself to live life. If it worked out, then great. If it didn’t, well at least there are some stories to tell.
Sandy had a lot of stories. Like when, at 15, he worked in northern Quebec cutting down trees and surveying the land. He was way too young, spoke no French but couldn’t wait for the adventure. He came home that fall with a decent handle on the language, a motorbike he was unlicensed to ride, plus a beard and hairstyle that left him unrecognizable to his own mother.
Eventually, Sandy shaved the beard, cut the hair and finished school, graduating with an economics degree from Queen’s University and, later, an MBA from York. While at Queen’s, Sandy met Kathy Baker. They married and had three children before divorcing in 1999. While the kids were young, Sandy worked in the corporate world. Eventually, in search of adventure Sandy set out as an entrepreneur and he built a successful marketing business with dozens of employees.
When Sandy was a kid, his father purchased a 100-acre farm in Flesherton, Ont. It became Sandy’s favourite retreat from the city and a lifelong joy to learn what it takes to run a hobby farm. Throughout his life he found joy on the property, especially when his grandchildren arrived. He loved taking them out on tractors and riding mowers and four wheelers, and making sure they could point out a John Deere machine when they saw one.
Sandy’s father had been president of the Canadian Book Publisher’s Council and that history contributed to Sandy finding his second wife, publisher Anne Hayes. Together they built her company, Flowerpot Press, and sold children’s books around the world, travelling annually to book fairs in Italy and Germany.
‘Do it!’ was a central theme in Sandy Matheson’s life.Courtesy of family
Possibly one of the biggest “do it?” moments Sandy faced came in 2008 when the opportunity to acquire that family farm arose. This time, an enthusiastic “do it!” response came from Anne. Anne and Sandy named the farm Saoirse Cnoc and renovated it over the next 17 years. Sandy loved the idea of building a locally grown garlic business. So he did, never mind that the amount of labour they put in was worth twice the garlic they took out. The couple tapped and bottled maple syrup in the spring, and in the fall they hosted a sauce-a-palooza event with friends and family to make tomato sauce.
The stories Sandy most loved to tell were of his family. Together with Anne they had a big, blended collection of kids: Jeff, Rob, Kristy, Tommy and Emily, and grandchildren Laura, James, Zack, Jake, Baker, Whit and Roman.
They have all been told to just “do it!” throughout their lives. Like when Rob started a landscaping company in his youth that grew into a full-time business, or when Kristy and her husband, Charles, bought a home three provinces away over Zoom during the pandemic. When they showed Sandy the results of his encouragement, you could always count on him to exclaim “Nice!”
Sandy’s adventurous spirit and optimism had its challenges, however. He’d see an old car abandoned in pieces or a rusted out pickup truck and collect the parts to repair later. His loving family watched the pieces pile up and wondered how many barns they might need to store these “treasures” before any of them became operable.
Sandy was diagnosed with cancer in 2023. He tried to get the upper hand at Princess Margaret hospital in Toronto. Sometimes he did. Sometimes he didn’t. But if there was an opportunity or trial, he would always say, “do it!”
Late last year, Sandy was told there was nothing left to do. He and Anne retired to the farm and hosted many friends and family as they shared their stories and said their goodbyes.
After he died, Sandy’s family talked about how to remember him. Someone suggested a party on his farm and there is little doubt they all heard, “do it!” in that moment. As the sun shone that day over about 150 people, he was almost certainly smiling down and thinking . . . “Nice!”
Patrick Hayes is Sandy Matheson’s brother-in-law.
To submit a Lives Lived: [email protected]
Lives Lived celebrates the everyday, extraordinary, unheralded lives of Canadians who have recently passed. To learn how to share the story of a family member or friend, go to tgam.ca/livesguide.