Sylvia Fedoruk was born in Canora, SK, to Annie Romaniuk and Theodore Fedoruk on May 5th, 1927. She attended school in Wroxton until the family moved to Ontario during World War II. There she graduated from high school at Walkerville Collegiate, after which her and her family moved back to Saskatchewan. She attended the University of Saskatchewan, graduating with a B.A. (1949), then M.A. (1951) in Physics. She worked with Dr. Harold Johns developing the one of the world’s first Cobalt-60 units (the “cobalt bomb”) which was used in cancer treatment. She was a professor of Oncology at the U of S, and eventually the Director of Physics services at the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic, from which she retired in 1986.
Her life is composed of many firsts. She was the first woman to become a member of the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada (1973). First female chancellor at the U of S (1986-1989) , first Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor (1988-1994), and played in the first Diamond ‘D’ Championships (1961), which was the national curling tournament for women, which eventually became the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
For her entire life she was involved in sports, most notable curling, golf, baseball, basketball, track, and fishing. She has two Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame medals.
She was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1986), made an Officer of the Order of Canada (1987), and was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame (2009).
She travelled extensively for work and pleasure, and loved her dogs. Her dog Charli is featured in many of her official Lieutenant Governor portraits.
She passed away in 2012 at the age of 85.