SFU mourns loss of sociology and anthropology professor Sonja Luehrmann

Esteemed and beloved colleague and friend, Sonja Luehrmann, passed away on Aug. 24, a little over two years after she was diagnosed with cancer.

As an Associate Professor in Simon Fraser University’s Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Sonja modeled how to live a life devoted to learning. She was a brilliant and prolific scholar who produced innovative work on religion, history, politics, and Soviet and post-Soviet Russia.

She was a devoted teacher and mentor. And she was a colleague who was, above all else, generous with her time, knowledge and insights. We offer her family—her partner Ilya Vinkovetsky, Associate Professor of History at SFU, and their three children, Philipp, Vera, and Lukas—our deepest condolences.  

Read her full obituary here.

The funeral is set for Oct. 7, 2 p.m., Christ Church Cathedral.