Taking care of Sunnybrook

Audrey Little’s giving spanned close to 40 years before she left a surprise gift in her Will

Every month, without fail, Audrey Little would painstakingly write cheques to her favourite charities. At the top of her list was Sunnybrook.

“Audrey never missed a month,” chuckles her friend Ron Anderson, who, in Audrey’s later years, carried the stack of Audrey’s envelopes to the Leaside post office near her home – each letter carrying gifts to many community organizations. “It was unbelievably heartwarming. She liked to help people, and that’s the way she’d do it.”

By the time of her death in October 2021 at the age of 89, Audrey’s lifetime contributions to Sunnybrook had added up to more than $2,000.

And then Sunnybrook received a surprise letter in the mail from Audrey’s estate lawyer, Angela Lam. Audrey had included a bequest to Sunnybrook in her Will of more than $4 million. What made it even more special: The gift was designated to our Unrestricted Fund, meaning Audrey trusted Sunnybrook to direct her gift to where it could have the greatest impact.

Audrey was such a humble, unpretentious and unassuming person. She wasn’t in it to be remembered. She just wanted to make sure the money she’d spent her life saving up was put to good use and where it was needed most. That’s such a great reflection of the person she was,” says Angela Lam, Audrey's estate lawyer.

Born in 1932, Audrey spent most of her life in the Leaside neighbourhood north of downtown Toronto. One of her earliest jobs was at Eaton’s general office where she met her lifelong friend Frances Lauzon. The two women shared many cherished moments over the years, travelling, playing cards and spending time at the Stokes Family cottage on Pigeon Lake.

“She was such fun and always great to be with,” says Frances’s sister, Judy Anderson. Judy’s husband, Ron, agrees. “We had a lot of good times together. Audrey loved a party.”

But Ron also describes his friend as an astute businesswoman who treated The Globe and Mail financial pages “like her bible.” A bookkeeper by day, Audrey taught herself to invest and steadily grew her portfolio while keeping expenses to a minimum. “She played bridge with the vice president of McDonald’s and invested in the company’s stock, but refused to buy an automatic washing machine,” laughs Judy.

Audrey chose to support Sunnybrook because it was her community hospital. Both Audrey and her mother were patients of the Sunnybrook Academic Family Health Team, and Audrey was treated in the Odette Cancer Centre.

“Audrey had a feeling that Sunnybrook was there to help her any time she needed it,” says Ron. “She would say, ‘I wouldn’t go anywhere other than Sunnybrook.’ It’s why Sunnybrook was number one among all her charity donations.”

Sunnybrook was always there to look after Audrey,” says Judy Anderson, a close friend. “And now it certainly can be said Audrey was there to help look after Sunnybrook.”

Ron, Judy and Angela all agree that Audrey would be pleased to have her story shared as inspiration to others.

“She would be inordinately pleased to have left a significant bequest to Sunnybrook where it could be put to a world of good and even more honoured to think that she led by example,” says Angela. “It was Audrey’s hope that others would see her gifts and appreciate the importance of taking care of others who might need it more than you.”