It is hard to be writing a bio for my big sister. She was always everything I wanted to be and wasn't! She loved life to the fullest and everyone she worked with and everyone who knew her, from the youngest to the oldest, loved her, too. She was always out-going and kept everyone laughing.
Right out of high school, she got a job as manager of Pizza Hut and then after several years there, she took the manager's job at Pundt's Restaurant where she stayed for 20 years and then she became the Office Manager at Lowry's Family Medicine. She fell and crushed her knee and had to have steel plates and pins put in but the 6 surgeries she had didn't slow her down or dampen her spirit. While waiting for her 1st surgery, she even came up with the idea that the Dr's needed a laugh so she left them notes on her body ("This leg', 'Not this leg', 'Cut here' etc.). I had the pleasure of staying with her during all her surgeries and rehabilitation, but there was not one minute that she didn't make me glad I was able to be there. Even while in a wheelchair, she never stopped and felt sorry for herself. We shopped and cooked and planted flowers and put out 100's of bags of mulch and painted and cleaned and whatever else she could think of! She was never one to sit around and watch TV and having surgery didn't change that!
She had her last surgery in January, 2006 and then that April, we found out she had Inflammatory breast cancer. The doctors told us that she only had a 25% chance of living for 2 years. (Thank God, she was the 1 in 4 and lived almost 4 years!) She had surgery, and awful, awful chemo and then radiation but she still kept her happy, laughing nature. She wanted to keep working so the family pitched in and we cooked and cleaned and did the laundry so she could continue working. She would drag herself out of bed, put a smile on her face and go to work. She would come in, eat a couple of bites and fall into bed. She never let her associates know how sick she was. When we went for her 6 hr. chemo treatment, she always took a box of work to do. It amazed the doctors and nurses at the Oncology Center. She never let anybody see how any of this bothered her. She called the morning after her hair came out and we (my sister, Janice, and I) went out to lift her spirits and work in the yard, (which was her favorite thing to do when she wasn't working) and she met us at the car, she made a joke and made US laugh. I left her house many a day and cried all the way home but while there, we only had good times because she enjoyed life so!
Almost 2 years exactly from finding out she had Inflammatory breast cancer, she found out she had breast cancer in the other breast. The Oncologist who had been practicing medicine for 35 years had only seen 1 other patient who had both types of breast cancer. Though her chances were slim for survival, she still kept her spirits up, hiding from all but a very, very few, how sick she really was. She still worked most days because she said she needed to be around people. She had more chemo and surgery. She then had radiation and it burned her so bad she had to go to the Augusta Burn Center for treatment. The cancer spread, but she kept smiling and working and hiding how really bad the cancer was from even her children, associates and the doctor she worked for. She worked up until the week before she passed away.
I am thankful that God allowed us to have a "Borrowed Angel" and I am especially thankful that I had the pleasure of taking care of her for the last 10 years of her life here on earth. She left so many wonderful memories of the times that we shared together and I honestly don't know how I would have survived losing my big sister without all those memories! I am truly blessed to have been her sister and to have been a part of this Amazing Woman's life! I miss her daily and cannot look at a flower, or a mall, or even a 'Hot Donuts Now' sign without thinking of her. She will forever be in our hearts!
A TRIBUTE TO SANDY'S LIFE:
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an after glow
of smiles when life is done.
I'd like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times
and bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who grieve,
to dry before the sun
of happy memories
that I leave when my life is done.
A link to our baby sister:
Mary Tillman
♥ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Rick & Kathy for sponsoring Sandy's memorial. ♥
Right out of high school, she got a job as manager of Pizza Hut and then after several years there, she took the manager's job at Pundt's Restaurant where she stayed for 20 years and then she became the Office Manager at Lowry's Family Medicine. She fell and crushed her knee and had to have steel plates and pins put in but the 6 surgeries she had didn't slow her down or dampen her spirit. While waiting for her 1st surgery, she even came up with the idea that the Dr's needed a laugh so she left them notes on her body ("This leg', 'Not this leg', 'Cut here' etc.). I had the pleasure of staying with her during all her surgeries and rehabilitation, but there was not one minute that she didn't make me glad I was able to be there. Even while in a wheelchair, she never stopped and felt sorry for herself. We shopped and cooked and planted flowers and put out 100's of bags of mulch and painted and cleaned and whatever else she could think of! She was never one to sit around and watch TV and having surgery didn't change that!
She had her last surgery in January, 2006 and then that April, we found out she had Inflammatory breast cancer. The doctors told us that she only had a 25% chance of living for 2 years. (Thank God, she was the 1 in 4 and lived almost 4 years!) She had surgery, and awful, awful chemo and then radiation but she still kept her happy, laughing nature. She wanted to keep working so the family pitched in and we cooked and cleaned and did the laundry so she could continue working. She would drag herself out of bed, put a smile on her face and go to work. She would come in, eat a couple of bites and fall into bed. She never let her associates know how sick she was. When we went for her 6 hr. chemo treatment, she always took a box of work to do. It amazed the doctors and nurses at the Oncology Center. She never let anybody see how any of this bothered her. She called the morning after her hair came out and we (my sister, Janice, and I) went out to lift her spirits and work in the yard, (which was her favorite thing to do when she wasn't working) and she met us at the car, she made a joke and made US laugh. I left her house many a day and cried all the way home but while there, we only had good times because she enjoyed life so!
Almost 2 years exactly from finding out she had Inflammatory breast cancer, she found out she had breast cancer in the other breast. The Oncologist who had been practicing medicine for 35 years had only seen 1 other patient who had both types of breast cancer. Though her chances were slim for survival, she still kept her spirits up, hiding from all but a very, very few, how sick she really was. She still worked most days because she said she needed to be around people. She had more chemo and surgery. She then had radiation and it burned her so bad she had to go to the Augusta Burn Center for treatment. The cancer spread, but she kept smiling and working and hiding how really bad the cancer was from even her children, associates and the doctor she worked for. She worked up until the week before she passed away.
I am thankful that God allowed us to have a "Borrowed Angel" and I am especially thankful that I had the pleasure of taking care of her for the last 10 years of her life here on earth. She left so many wonderful memories of the times that we shared together and I honestly don't know how I would have survived losing my big sister without all those memories! I am truly blessed to have been her sister and to have been a part of this Amazing Woman's life! I miss her daily and cannot look at a flower, or a mall, or even a 'Hot Donuts Now' sign without thinking of her. She will forever be in our hearts!
A TRIBUTE TO SANDY'S LIFE:
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an after glow
of smiles when life is done.
I'd like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times
and bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who grieve,
to dry before the sun
of happy memories
that I leave when my life is done.
A link to our baby sister:
Mary Tillman
♥ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Rick & Kathy for sponsoring Sandy's memorial. ♥
It is hard to be writing a bio for my big sister. She was always everything I wanted to be and wasn't! She loved life to the fullest and everyone she worked with and everyone who knew her, from the youngest to the oldest, loved her, too. She was always out-going and kept everyone laughing.
Right out of high school, she got a job as manager of Pizza Hut and then after several years there, she took the manager's job at Pundt's Restaurant where she stayed for 20 years and then she became the Office Manager at Lowry's Family Medicine. She fell and crushed her knee and had to have steel plates and pins put in but the 6 surgeries she had didn't slow her down or dampen her spirit. While waiting for her 1st surgery, she even came up with the idea that the Dr's needed a laugh so she left them notes on her body ("This leg', 'Not this leg', 'Cut here' etc.). I had the pleasure of staying with her during all her surgeries and rehabilitation, but there was not one minute that she didn't make me glad I was able to be there. Even while in a wheelchair, she never stopped and felt sorry for herself. We shopped and cooked and planted flowers and put out 100's of bags of mulch and painted and cleaned and whatever else she could think of! She was never one to sit around and watch TV and having surgery didn't change that!
She had her last surgery in January, 2006 and then that April, we found out she had Inflammatory breast cancer. The doctors told us that she only had a 25% chance of living for 2 years. (Thank God, she was the 1 in 4 and lived almost 4 years!) She had surgery, and awful, awful chemo and then radiation but she still kept her happy, laughing nature. She wanted to keep working so the family pitched in and we cooked and cleaned and did the laundry so she could continue working. She would drag herself out of bed, put a smile on her face and go to work. She would come in, eat a couple of bites and fall into bed. She never let her associates know how sick she was. When we went for her 6 hr. chemo treatment, she always took a box of work to do. It amazed the doctors and nurses at the Oncology Center. She never let anybody see how any of this bothered her. She called the morning after her hair came out and we (my sister, Janice, and I) went out to lift her spirits and work in the yard, (which was her favorite thing to do when she wasn't working) and she met us at the car, she made a joke and made US laugh. I left her house many a day and cried all the way home but while there, we only had good times because she enjoyed life so!
Almost 2 years exactly from finding out she had Inflammatory breast cancer, she found out she had breast cancer in the other breast. The Oncologist who had been practicing medicine for 35 years had only seen 1 other patient who had both types of breast cancer. Though her chances were slim for survival, she still kept her spirits up, hiding from all but a very, very few, how sick she really was. She still worked most days because she said she needed to be around people. She had more chemo and surgery. She then had radiation and it burned her so bad she had to go to the Augusta Burn Center for treatment. The cancer spread, but she kept smiling and working and hiding how really bad the cancer was from even her children, associates and the doctor she worked for. She worked up until the week before she passed away.
I am thankful that God allowed us to have a "Borrowed Angel" and I am especially thankful that I had the pleasure of taking care of her for the last 10 years of her life here on earth. She left so many wonderful memories of the times that we shared together and I honestly don't know how I would have survived losing my big sister without all those memories! I am truly blessed to have been her sister and to have been a part of this Amazing Woman's life! I miss her daily and cannot look at a flower, or a mall, or even a 'Hot Donuts Now' sign without thinking of her. She will forever be in our hearts!
A TRIBUTE TO SANDY'S LIFE:
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an after glow
of smiles when life is done.
I'd like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times
and bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who grieve,
to dry before the sun
of happy memories
that I leave when my life is done.
A link to our baby sister:
Mary Tillman
♥ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Rick & Kathy for sponsoring Sandy's memorial. ♥
Right out of high school, she got a job as manager of Pizza Hut and then after several years there, she took the manager's job at Pundt's Restaurant where she stayed for 20 years and then she became the Office Manager at Lowry's Family Medicine. She fell and crushed her knee and had to have steel plates and pins put in but the 6 surgeries she had didn't slow her down or dampen her spirit. While waiting for her 1st surgery, she even came up with the idea that the Dr's needed a laugh so she left them notes on her body ("This leg', 'Not this leg', 'Cut here' etc.). I had the pleasure of staying with her during all her surgeries and rehabilitation, but there was not one minute that she didn't make me glad I was able to be there. Even while in a wheelchair, she never stopped and felt sorry for herself. We shopped and cooked and planted flowers and put out 100's of bags of mulch and painted and cleaned and whatever else she could think of! She was never one to sit around and watch TV and having surgery didn't change that!
She had her last surgery in January, 2006 and then that April, we found out she had Inflammatory breast cancer. The doctors told us that she only had a 25% chance of living for 2 years. (Thank God, she was the 1 in 4 and lived almost 4 years!) She had surgery, and awful, awful chemo and then radiation but she still kept her happy, laughing nature. She wanted to keep working so the family pitched in and we cooked and cleaned and did the laundry so she could continue working. She would drag herself out of bed, put a smile on her face and go to work. She would come in, eat a couple of bites and fall into bed. She never let her associates know how sick she was. When we went for her 6 hr. chemo treatment, she always took a box of work to do. It amazed the doctors and nurses at the Oncology Center. She never let anybody see how any of this bothered her. She called the morning after her hair came out and we (my sister, Janice, and I) went out to lift her spirits and work in the yard, (which was her favorite thing to do when she wasn't working) and she met us at the car, she made a joke and made US laugh. I left her house many a day and cried all the way home but while there, we only had good times because she enjoyed life so!
Almost 2 years exactly from finding out she had Inflammatory breast cancer, she found out she had breast cancer in the other breast. The Oncologist who had been practicing medicine for 35 years had only seen 1 other patient who had both types of breast cancer. Though her chances were slim for survival, she still kept her spirits up, hiding from all but a very, very few, how sick she really was. She still worked most days because she said she needed to be around people. She had more chemo and surgery. She then had radiation and it burned her so bad she had to go to the Augusta Burn Center for treatment. The cancer spread, but she kept smiling and working and hiding how really bad the cancer was from even her children, associates and the doctor she worked for. She worked up until the week before she passed away.
I am thankful that God allowed us to have a "Borrowed Angel" and I am especially thankful that I had the pleasure of taking care of her for the last 10 years of her life here on earth. She left so many wonderful memories of the times that we shared together and I honestly don't know how I would have survived losing my big sister without all those memories! I am truly blessed to have been her sister and to have been a part of this Amazing Woman's life! I miss her daily and cannot look at a flower, or a mall, or even a 'Hot Donuts Now' sign without thinking of her. She will forever be in our hearts!
A TRIBUTE TO SANDY'S LIFE:
I'd like the memory of me
to be a happy one.
I'd like to leave an after glow
of smiles when life is done.
I'd like to leave an echo
whispering softly down the ways,
Of happy times and laughing times
and bright and sunny days.
I'd like the tears of those who grieve,
to dry before the sun
of happy memories
that I leave when my life is done.
A link to our baby sister:
Mary Tillman
♥ Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Rick & Kathy for sponsoring Sandy's memorial. ♥
Gravesite Details
It has a seagull because she loved them so and although we had never seen one at her house before, hundreds of them came on the Thursday before she passed away. Her son carried her outside to see them and they remained to carry her to Heaven.
