SANBORN, Joseph John Sanborn

If we meet again, you will know me, it means even after I die, you can still see my face, and hear my voice, and speak to me in your heart.”

Those are not our father’s words, they belong to Carl Fredrich Buechner – but they are the last words our father wanted to share with the world at his memorial, and most importantly, to leave with us.

That was our father – man of few words, yet always finding the right ones. Except when it came to storytelling – then could he spin a yarn! And if you really listened, you heard not just the stories of his life, but the lessons of it too.
Born in Portland, Maine, at the height of the Great Depression, to an electrician father and homemaker/teacher mother, he grew up with two loving sisters and a beloved brother, and a life defined by faith, family and fun, despite the harshness of the era.
Those who knew our father felt his unfaltering belief in how athletics could impact a life, a journey that began at his cherished Cheverus High School, where his talent for sports – football, but especially basketball – first emerged, and where his impulse to coach and mentor was born.
After high school, he served two years in the American military – from 1953 to 1955 – where he served with the Allied Powers, stationed in Vienna with the International Patrol. Despite the ominous time and place, Dad appreciated the experience and drew life lessons from it, which he shared through the years.

Eventually he took this passion to Canada – attending St. Francis Xavier University in 1955-59, where he was a stellar athlete in football and basketball. As co-captain of the team, he led the 1958-59 X-Men basketball team to take Nova Scotia’s Intercollegiate title, the Maritime Intercollegiate Crown, and the Canadian Senior ‘B’ Championship – achievements recognized in 2023 when the team was inducted into the St. FX Sports Hall of Fame.

Yet by far, that was not his most cherished memory of St. FX – firing up his courage to cross the floor one Saturday night to ask our mother to dance was undoubtedly it- that was the moment that changed his life! In August 1959, he married our mother, Patricia McMurray of Saint John, New Brunswick, who became his dance partner over the next 66 years.

In 1963, after a few years of life in Maine, and with a growing family, our parents made their way to Canada, where they firmly planted their roots and devoted their life to the community of Cornwall.

That September, our father began his career-long tenure at CCVS high school. And for the next 26 years, was a dedicated teacher and department head, as well as a legendary basketball coach of the CCVS Raiders.

Joe loved teaching both Canadian and American history. His students learned important skills for understanding both past and current events. He was committed to creating a positive classroom experience. Many students have shared that they also went into teaching because of their time in his class.

As a coach, he shared his own life’s experience of how sports can develop character and a sense of team purpose to inspire generations of students and athletes. The Raiders became iconic. In 1970 he coached the team to their first league title, and over the next eighteen years, steered it to eleven S.D.G championships, seven Eastern Ontario championships (EOSSAA), and later competing at the provincial level (OFSAA). In 1988, he was inducted into the Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame. His induction noted, “Sanborn retired from coaching after leaving a record that will be hard to duplicate. It is a measure of respect to Joe that many of his former players have moved into coaching of young basketballers in Cornwall.” (Cornwall Sports Hall of Fame). In his honour, his former players donated a trophy to be given to a staff member who contributed most to athletics at C.C.V.S.

However, our father’s true devotion was to his family – which quickly grew from three, to four to eight children! Like many large families, life was challenging, but our parents embraced everything with fortitude and gusto, creating a warm, loving and supportive home. Our memories are filled with long summer road trips to Saint John and Maine, splashy weekends at Mille Roches beach on the Long Sault Parkway, the waft of our father’s famed baked beans, and the sound of his booming voice from the front porch, calling us home to dinner. Our childhood is especially marked by its magical Christmases, where gifts were lovingly selected and often handcrafted by our mother, then beautifully laid out in special displays for each of us. An effort that always took all night, and where our father stood guard to ensure curious eyes did not peek.

And that was the magic of our parents’ partnership.

They were always supportive of their children’s endeavours, of which there are countless examples: from guiding our early years of development, to supporting our varied passions and professional pursuits later in life (theatre, jazz guitar, architecture, writing, professional public service, seniors’ care, coaching hockey and teaching). There was never one mold.

As we all married, our father warmly welcomed sons and daughters-in-law, embracing his expanded family. Over the years, he relished his role as “Grampa Joe” to his many grandchildren. He was always engaged and enthusiastic about their diverse pursuits; each grandchild has deeply personal memories of his love and attention.

His storytelling was legendary – often so funnily remembered he could barely get through the telling for the laughing!

One of his most precious stories was the adventure of our parents’ journey to Cornwall. Leaving Maine – and on deadline to get to their destination for the start of the school year in three days – their car broke down in Quebec. It was a blistering, late summer day, and their only option was to trek along the highway with three kids in tow: the baby on Dad’s shoulders, two others in hand, and one imminently on the way. It took three miles to get to a rural farmhouse and the nearest phone, where our father’s limited French, hand gestures and 10 bucks helped convey the desperate situation. He arrived in Cornwall late for the new school year – but undaunted.

Through the years that story became bigger, bolder, funnier—but the essence never changed – and in the telling was the meaning: a lesson about endurance and determination. It is a story about the value of taking the long view on the highway of life, with humour and perseverance together.

Joe Sanborn is survived by the love of his life, our mother Patricia, his dear sister Eileen, and his eight children: Mary Saunders (Mick), Raymond Sanborn (Alise), Maureen Sanborn (Howard Heintzman), Deborah Sanborn (Matthew Robinson), Michèle Sanborn (Eric Mézin), Stephanie Sanborn, Joseph Sanborn (Jenifer), and Victor Sanborn and his beloved grandchildren: Keirstin, Lora Marie, Alexandre, Alyssa, Isobel, Christian-Joseph, Rosalind, Elizabeth, Katie, Ruby and Angela.

He is also survived by sisters-in-laws Joan Martin (Bruce) and Michelle Hodgson (Arthur), and many cherished nieces and nephews, who all loved “Uncle Joe”, and by so many lifelong and dear friends in Cornwall.

He is predeceased by: his mother and father, Mary and Joseph Sanborn, brother Stan and wife Judy, sister Mary Lou and husband Blair, and his in-laws, Florence and Raymund McMurray, Paul McMurray, George and Deannie McMurray, and Mary and Jerry Wilkins.

Visitation will take place at Wilson Funeral Home, 822 Pitt Street, Cornwall, ON (613-938-3888) on Monday, Sept. 22nd, 2025 from 2-4 pm and 7-9 pm. Mass of Christian Burial to follow on Tuesday, Sept. 23rd, 2025 at 11 am, in Blessed Sacrament Church.

“When you remember me, it means you have carried something of who I am with you, that I have left some mark of who I am on who you are.”