Wanda June Sanford

She was born on March 27, 1931, in Oklahoma City, one of the eight children of Nellie (Brumble) and Willam Brasier. Raised on the Osage Nation of Pawhuska, Oklahoma and on a family farm in the Ozark region of Arkansas, she early developed a love for the outdoors. She graduated from Cane Hill High School, where she played on the girls’ basketball team during the Arkansas State Championships. After her family moved back to Oklahoma City, she married and began to raise her own family. Upon her husband’s death, she moved to Arizona, where she supported her five young children as a single mother working at A.J. Bayless supermarkets.

An 18-year career in electronics manufacturing at Goodyear Aerospace followed, and a move to Goodyear, Arizona. There she was involved in many community organizations and public service. Wanda happily served as a Girl Scout troop leader, and later as an adult advisor to a local co-ed Explorer Post, which she led on wilderness backpacking trips. An unusual accomplishment at her work was building components of the NASA Apollo spacecraft and lunar rovers that went to the Moon. After graduating from Glendale Community College, Wanda switched careers, working as a bookkeeper at Jarnagin Farms, accountant for the Arizona State Board of Nursing and the Arizona Department of Agriculture. She retired to Payson, Arizona where she was also involved in community service organizations and continued her loving relationships with her family members and friends. From time to time, Wanda provided a temporary home for young people seeking guidance and support, treating them as if they were one of her own children. During summers, she would often serve as a Forest Service campground manager near Happy Jack, AZ. At age 70, Wanda decided to make a parachute jump. The sky-diving adventure was a huge thrill. Wanda was an avid road-trip traveler, devoted Christian, and lifelong lover of the outdoors.

She leaves behind 5 children, 10 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and 5 great-great grandchildren.

A celebration of life will take place in February of 2026.