Our family lost their matriarchal pillar, Sandra Dianna Castillo, aged 79, on January 4, 2025. She was born during a brisk winter morning at the Soboba Indian Hospital in San Jacinto, California on January 23, 1945.
She was the second generation to be born on the Soboba Indian Reservation, after her mother Alice Blennerhassett, and father, James “Sunny” Ponchetti. Sandy was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She is remembered by her love of nature and camping, cooking for her family, and being an asset to her job before retiring. Sandy was an avid traveler, having traveled to China, Switzerland, Italy, and other countries.
She worked for Indian Health Services at Soboba Indian Health Clinic for 30 years where she created a bond with almost everyone she worked with. Sandy strongly believed education was important at every age, having graduated in 2010 with her Associates of Art in Social and Behavioral Science from Mt. San Jacinto College.
Sandy is preceded in death by her parents Alice and James, siblings Sharon, Peter, and great-grandson
Zephyr. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Steven Lopez Castillo, her children John Thomas Castillo and Barbara Joan Smiles, her sister Marguerite Buckley, grandchildren Michael and Mari Wheeler, Sarah Wheeler, Miranda and Andrew Castillo, and great-grandchildren Ivee Slater, June Gutierrez, and Daxx Beauchene.
