Sandra S. Garnes died Tuesday, July 16 at the Lakeside Village in Panora, Iowa, surrounded by family. She was born March 29, 1945, in Perry, Iowa, the daughter of George and Lucille Hicks.
Sandra was married at age 14 to her then-husband and had two children.
Sandra enjoyed fishing, boating and collecting rocks for landscaping. She also loved finding old furniture and refurbishing it.
Even though she had little to share, she was always very generous, trying to sneak money to family and sometimes friends, including mailing $2 or $3 here or there in the mail. She just always wanted to make sure that her family and friends could afford to eat and get the things they needed . . . even if they had no need for her help!
Despite Sandra’s struggle with mental illness, she was an extremely kind and empathetic woman who put her family first. She made many friends in her final year in the nursing home. Everybody always mentioned how loved she was by all who knew her.
In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her brother, Ron Hicks and two sisters, June Goldsberry and Hazel Schuhardt.
Survivors include her daughter, Angela (Ted) Wemhoff; her son, Bill (Charla) Garnes; five grandchildren, Dakota Garnes, Alex Ernst, Erica (Tad) Young, Brooke (Marcus Meri) and Kendra Garnes; three step-grandchildren, Wes (Whitney Wemhoff), Wade (Jen) Wemhoff and Whitney (C. J.) Goebel; 10 great-grandchildren; and many beloved nieces and nephews.
A service of remembrance will be held Saturday, Aug. 10 at the Caldwell Funeral Home, with visitation starting at 1 p.m. and services at 2 p.m. There will be no burial ceremony as Sandra wished to be cremated.
