Sandra "Sandy" LouRhea Switzer

Sandy grew up on a dairy farm in Astoria, then moved to Forest Grove as a teenager. She loved animals, Elvis, and cool cars. She started working at Sawyers in Tigard right after high school, where she met Hugh Switzer, who she married in 1963. They had lots of friends and spent weekends at the beach and camping and driving cool cars. When her children were born, she stopped working at Sawyers and began an in-home daycare business. She took care of kids for nearly 40 years and was involved in all of her own kids’ sports and activities. You could count on Sandy to always be the Team Mom, replenishing the snack shack for the baseball team and sewing sequins on dance team costumes. She attended every game, every competition, and was happy to host and feed her kids’ friends who were always welcome and comfortable in her home.

After Hugh died in 1997, Sandy continued working, but added more travel to her life. She enjoyed visiting her sister Eileen in Alaska and Hawaii. Holiday family gatherings at her brother Denny’s and annual summer trips to the Oregon coast with her kids were her favorite. She welcomed more animals into her life, including an African Grey parrot and her sister’s cats. All the backyard birds and squirrels ate well at Sandy’s house. When she became a Grammy, she took care of her grandbabies and her granddogs.

If you needed anything taken care of - animals, plants, kids – Sandy was your gal. She was a nurturing caretaker, a familiar face with a familiar routine. She was fun – she liked her music LOUD and she liked to cheer on her sports teams LOUD! She was a loyal and genuine friend who enjoyed playing BUNCO with a group of ladies who’d been together for over 40 years. She loved bright colors, she was a good cook, and she could never have enough fun purses or red jackets in her wardrobe.

On Sunday, March 7th, 2021 Sandy finally succumbed to her 2-year battle with cancer and died peacefully with her children by her side. She leaves behind a family who will miss her greatly:

• 2 siblings: sister Eileen and husband Tom Hallee; brother Dennis and wife Diane, niece Stephani and nephew Brad and families

• 2 children: daughter Jami and husband Chad Keene, granddaughters Serena and Mallory; son Jeff and wife Mary, grandson Emmett

• 3 stepsons from Hugh’s family: Dave, Mike and Mark Switzer and their families

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.skylinememorialgardens.com for the Switzer family.