Sandra Berry

Sandra Berry

May 24th, 1935 – April 26th, 2024

Sandra Berry of Santa Rosa, a remarkable mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, world traveler, and proud New Mexican, passed away peacefully on April 26th. She was 88.

The daughter of Nathan and Ethel Glassman, Sandy was born in Albuquerque in 1935. She excelled as a student athlete and was a member of the first graduating class at Highland High School, before enrolling at the University of New Mexico to study accounting. While Sandy was working at the Student Union one afternoon, a Californian named R. Lee Berry leaned across the counter to ask for her number. Within a year, the couple eloped to Santa Fe, making their first stop in what would become a shared life of constant adventure. For the next four decades, Sandy and Lee lived all over the United States in between longer stints in Libya, London, Indonesia, and Tokyo. After raising her three children, Sandy returned to accountancy in Houston and took a job in London where she helped fellow ex-pats relocate to the U.K., though she always found plenty of time to dote on her beloved dogs. A dedicated philanthropist, Sandy contributed financial savvy to organizations like the Tripoli Little League and served as Treasurer for the College Women’s Association of Japan and the Women’s International Club of Jakarta.

After retiring to Santa Fe in 1992, Sandy could often be found walking her dogs in the arroyo behind the couple’s house in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. She became a fixture of the El Gancho Racquet Club, the Santa Fe Golf Club, and the Pit in Albuquerque, where she and Lee egged on their alma mater as longtime Lobo basketball season ticket holders. Sandy was particularly known for her fabulous dinner parties, which served as opportunities to share the stories and recipes she had cultivated in her life abroad. Her guestlist was often drawn from the friends she made on the boards of the Santa Fe Opera Guild, the New Mexico Children’s Foundation, and the New Mexico Governor’s Mansion. She also played host to visiting diplomats for the Council on International Relations, as well as volunteered at the thrift store that raises money for the local Hospice Center. Always restless, Lee and Sandy continued to travel the globe throughout their retirement, before making one more move in 2016, to Santa Rosa’s Oakmont community.

Sandy is survived by Lee, her devoted husband of 70 years, as well as Mark and Nancy Berry (Chadds Ford, PA), Teresa Berry and David Paoletta (Coupeville, WA), Curtis and Melissa Berry (Louisville, KY), eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. Her sharp wit, community spirit, athletic endeavors, favorite stories, and tortilla soup will be remembered and cherished forever by everyone who knew and loved her.

In lieu of flowers, the Berry family requests donations be made to the Humane Society of Sonoma County https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/humane-society-of-sonoma-county/tribute-donation or the Presbyterian Medical Services’ Hospice Center in Santa Fe https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/PresbyterianMedicalServices/onlinegiving.html  

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