Sandra L. Miller

Sandy Lynn Stevens was born in 1939. She grew up in McClean and married Gordie Miller in 1958. They were married 60 years until Gordie passed away on December 25, 2018. Sandy is survived by three daughters, Carol Curkendall, Arlene Sperger, and Nancy VanEtten. She is also survived by nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Sandy never talked about herself. She had a servant’s heart and lived for her kids and grandkids. She would spend a week preparing for her grandchildren to visit their three bedroom ranch house that Gordie built when their kids were little. She’d say, “Gordie, put that leaf in the table and throw more wood on the fire!” And she always had fudge, cookies, or pies.

Sandy loved to read novels and magazines and watch gameshows like the Price is Right, Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. If you listened, you’d hear her softly declaring the correct answers before the contestants.

Sandy enjoyed Country Western music, which you could often hear her humming. She’d hum while doing the dishes and while hanging clothes on the line.

Sandy was always patient, never in a hurry, and never seemed to be stressed about anything. She spent many years working at Brooks Pharmacy in Ithaca before resigning to assist her husband Gordie with their scrapyard business. She would answer the phone Mmmmhello. Later, when the scrapyard business wound down she ran a daycare from her home on Bull Hill Road. Many of the children called her Grandma.

Sandy had an unforgettable laugh: Her eyes would light up, and her shoulders would begin to quake as she had a silent fit of laughter.

When Sandy wasn’t tending to everyone else’s needs you could find her at the kitchen table playing Uno with the grandkids, tackling the crossword puzzle from the daily newspaper, or challenging herself with a game of Solitaire. Sandy never complained – if she was cold she would put on a coat, if she was bored she would twiddle her thumbs, it you drove too fast she would just hang onto the Hail Mary bar.

We still gather to play Uno with the same vintage cards we used all those years ago – Draw four, skip reverse.. if only we could.

We miss you mom. We miss you grandma. We’ll see you when you wake up.