66, of Mesa, Arizona passed away peacefully on January 31, 2014. She was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, graduated from high school in Huntertown, Indiana, received a B.A. degree in Creative Drama and Elementary Education from the University of Washington in Seattle, and an M.Ed degree in Reading and Language Arts from the University of Hawaii. Sandi moved to Mesa in 1992 and worked in the Gilbert Public Schools in Gilbert Arizona, first as a reading specialist and ultimately as the District reading interventionist. She specialized in reading development and dyslexia, and in 2001 she received the Bill Ellis Teacher Preparation Award at the national Dyslexia Association meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She also implemented curricula and trained many reading specialists in the District before retiring in 2013. Sandi was active in the U.S. Army Reserve, where she rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. After 9/11, she served for two years as an anti-terrorism officer with the Pacific Command in Hawaii and was awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. She was preceded in death by her husband of 30 years, Samuel K. Apuna, who died in 2010. She is survived by her brother Dr. Terrone Rosenberry of Jacksonville, FL; her step-daughters Melanie Denny of Peoria, Arizona, Michelle Barker of Mountain View, Hawaii, and Melissa Apuna of Kaneohe, Hawaii, and her step-sons Samuel Apuna III of Honolulu, Hawaii, and John Apuna of Ewa Beach, Hawaii. A visitation will be held at Melcher Mortuary Mission Chapel, 6625 E. Main Street in Mesa from 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, February 8, immediately followed by a memorial service and reception at the same location. Burial will take place at the Punchbowl National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. Donations may be made to Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona, or to the American Cancer Society.
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