Sandra Sukstorf, who grew up in Coniston, was recently appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Port Coquitlam.
She was a top student at St. Paul the Apostle Elementary School and a promising tennis player. She belonged to Girl Guides and delivered the Northern Life newspaper with her siblings. As a teenager, Sukstorf wrote a weekly column for Sudbury’s daily newspaper. Sukstorf attended Marymount Academy. Later, she switched to Sudbury Secondary School where the semester system allowed her to complete three senior grades in two years.
A role model for young women, Sukstorf was one of the first women admitted to the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston in the early 1980s. Prior to her appointment to the B.C. Supreme Court, the military veteran served as a military judge over courts martial across Canada. "Initially, I intended to assist temporarily, but the compelling nature of the work kept me engaged for the next seven years," she said.