Marguerite Marie Sandmann

BURLEY – Marguerite Marie Sandmann, died Friday, Nov. 9, 2012, at Highland Estates Assisted Living in Burley. She was 94.

Marguerite was born July 29, 1918, in Glenwood, Iowa. She moved to Burley early in childhood with her parents so that her father, William Sylvester Kearns, could take work building roads, including U.S. Highway 30, while her mother, Lottie D. Milar Kearns, cooked for the work camps. Marguerite graduated from Burley High School in 1936 with her mind set on seeing the world. She took a job at King’s Variety Store to earn money for college, and she graduated from the Salt Lake General School of Nursing in 1940. She worked in Utah until the American Red Cross needed nurses to help with the war effort. She joined the Navy Nurse Reserve Corp in 1942. She served in California and Washington state military hospitals until 1944 when she was shipped to New Caledonia in the South Pacific where she cared for heavy casualties as the U.S. fought for control of the Pacific islands. She returned to Idaho in 1946, but not for long. The Red Cross needed nurses for a polio epidemic in Los Angeles. There, she worked toward a bachelor’s degree in nursing from University of California - Berkeley, and she met her husband, L.H. “Sandy” Sandmann. They married April 11, 1948, in Oakland, where they started a family before settling in Lafayette.

Marguerite stayed home to raise seven children but eventually returned to nursing and became an intensive care unit nurse at the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Walnut Creek, California. The family moved to Marguerite’s hometown of Burley in 1969, where Marguerite helped Cassia Memorial Hospital start its ICU program. Nurses who worked with Marguerite say that they respected her take-charge leadership abilities – certainly skills needed to raise seven children, six of whom are boys. She is also remembered for her sparkly smile.

Marguerite’s health forced her into early retirement in 1983. She remained a lifelong learner taking classes in science, history and art from the College of Southern Idaho. She enjoyed water color and pottery. She had a strong love for animals, and had a hard time turning away any strays. Although unknown by many, she was a skilled ballroom dancer. She was a longtime member of the Burley United Methodist Church.

Marguerite was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and brother, Frank Kearns of Burley.

She is survived by her sister, Maxine Kearns Moore of Vancouver, Wash.; seven children, James (Jan) of San Ramon, Calif., Richard of Danville, Calif., Brian (Pam) of Redmond, Wash., and Alice, Michael (Joann Cloud), Don (Jennifer), and Karl (Karen), all of Burley; 11 grandchildren, Shawn, Jayme, Diana, Jamie, Landon, Brendan, Chad, Kimberly, Avilyn, Cole, and Adrienne; and 11 great-grandchildren.

We, her children, are grateful for her peaceful passing but also feel the sense of not having had a chance to say goodbye. Take a moment to let the people you love know what they mean to you.

The funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, at the United Methodist Church, 450 E. 27th St., in Burley, with the Rev. Kathy Abend officiating. Military rites will be provided by the Mini-Cassia Veterans Organization. Burial will be in the Pleasant View Cemetery.

Friends may call from 6 until 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16, at the Rasmussen Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from 1 until 1:45 p.m. Saturday at the church.

The family suggests memorials be directed to the American Red Cross.