Sandra Gene Golden, 66, died July 9, 2009, at Evergreen Vista in La Grande.
Sandra was born June 6, 1943, to Betty and Robert Wright in Oak Park, Ill. She was the oldest of five girls. She moved to Southern California with her family in 1955. She graduated from John Muir High School in Pasadena, and the University of California at Santa Barbara with a bachelor of science degree in zoology. She worked as a laboratory technician, and later obtained a master’s degree in laboratory management and was supervisor of the lab in a 1,200-bed hospital in Long Beach, Calif.
She raised Benjamin and Sarah as a single mom after an eight-year marriage which ended in divorce.
She met Tommy Golden at the hospital laboratory and married him in 2002. They moved to Texas, his home state, to be near his family. In her early 50s she developed Pick’s Disease, a rare form of progressive dementia. When her care became overwhelming, she was brought to Oregon and placed in Settler’s Park for care after a short stay with her sister. She later was moved to Evergreen Vista where she suddenly passed away July 9, 2009.
Sandy was intelligent, kind and giving. She was an expert seamstress. She made her wedding dress and all four bridesmaids dresses (for her four sisters). She never forgot a birthday or a holiday and made sure all gathered for an occasion, usually as hostess. She was nurturing to her family, and if there were problems, she tried to help. She loved travel, shop, read, sew and fast cars! She had a great sense of humor and a warm, winning smile.
She is survived by her two children: Benjamin Louis Doty of Seattle, and Sarah Gretchen Plamer of Wilton, N.H.; and her sisters, Judy Harmer of Baker City, Nanci Sheppard of Baker City, Wendy Wright of Duarte, Calif., and Christy Gordon of Temple City, Calif.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, July 17, 2009
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor