Sondra Deurese Nodvin

Sondra Deurese Hagen Nodvin, known to her loved ones as Sandie, and whose Hebrew name was Shoshana Devorah, was born on February 9, 1940, in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to Lawrence Hagen and Solveig Lima Hagen. She was the youngest of four children, following her sister Joanne and her brothers Bud and Stan.

Sandie grew up in Wisconsin in a time when children walked to school in the snow and having a job at fourteen was simply part of growing up. She was active in her high school marching band, where she played the clarinet, flute, and trumpet. Music would remain an important part of her life for decades to come.

Around 1961, at about twenty-one years old, Sandie left Wisconsin and moved to Atlanta to be close to her sister Joanne. That move began a lifetime of family, friendships, music, creativity, and memories that would become treasured by so many.

Sandie was extremely close to Joanne and to her three daughters, Lisa, Kim, and Lauri. To her nieces, she was the coolest aunt on the planet. They thought she was beautiful, fashionable, and effortlessly hip. Her hair was always done, her makeup was always perfect, and she seemed to know exactly how to put an outfit together. But what they loved most was her generosity, sweetness, sense of humor, and willingness to help whenever she could.

Sandie often stayed with the girls on weekends and became something of a second mother and big sister to them. She babysat so Joanne and Russell could go out to dinner, played games with the girls, encouraged their creativity, and sometimes let them play hairdresser and brush and style her hair.

Music was a huge part of their family life. Sandie would bring her guitar, and after dinner she, Joanne, and Russell would sing together while Sandie played. They would record the songs on cassette tapes and mail them to their parents in Wisconsin. Sandie also played piano, as did Joanne, and the two sisters could sit together for hours playing duets and singing, sometimes joined by Russell. Their parents got quite a kick out of it.

Christmas at Joanne's house was another special time. Sandie loved helping Joanne decorate the outside of the house, especially because the neighborhood Garden Club gave awards for the most beautifully decorated homes. The two sisters took those awards seriously and worked hard to earn one—always accompanied by plenty of laughter. Music was part of the festivities, and one of their favorite songs to sing and play was “Do You Hear What I Hear.”

Sandie also wrapped the most beautiful presents. She handmade all of her bows, and each package was a little work of art. Joanne and the girls looked forward every year to seeing what she had created.

And Sandie could certainly be silly.

One Halloween, Sandie and Joanne decided they would go trick-or-treating with Lisa, Kim, and Lauri. They dressed as witches, perfected their costumes, grabbed a glass, and went door-to-door—not for candy, but for cocktails at various friends' homes around the neighborhood. Lisa, Kim, and Lauri could only roll their eyes and try not to look too mortified.

That was Sandie.

She was stylish and sophisticated, but she also knew how to have fun.

Sandie was a great lover of animals, especially cats, and she had a soft spot for those who needed rescuing. Abby and Cricket were among the animals she rescued from difficult circumstances.

Her daughters remember countless other small moments that, together, tell the story of who their mother was.

When they were little, Sandie packed “things-to-do” bags for them wherever they went—doctor appointments, airplane trips, car rides, and anywhere else they might possibly become bored. She read to them and gave voices to the animals in their books. She made their stuffed animals talk.

She left little lunch notes when they went to summer camp.

She encouraged their imaginations so completely that their home could become almost anything. One bedroom became a horse farm. A dress rack with a sheet over it became a stage. The children put on plays and festivals, changing costumes behind the curtain.

One year, after the family visited a Greek Festival, the girls decided, naturally, that they needed to reenact the entire experience at home. They rode Ginger, the fake horse on the swing set, all the way to their imaginary festival.

They were imaginative children—and Sandie encouraged every bit of it.

When one daughter wrote and co-directed a homemade “movie” in middle school with Hillary and Joie, Sandie happily participated, appearing in several scenes. The movie was filmed on a VHS camcorder, with a cassette-tape soundtrack playing from a boombox. It was, by all accounts, hilariously bad.

Sandie was a good sport.

She made pilgrim costumes for the girls when they decided to put on a Thanksgiving play. She sewed Halloween costumes for her daughters and, years later, for Bella. She decorated the house for Hanukkah so her children would never feel left out.

She drove her daughters to riding lessons and took them to horse shows at 5 a.m.—because apparently mothers are capable of functioning at that hour when horses are involved.

She even helped them hide riding injuries from Dad.

She taught her daughters to sleep with their Latin textbooks under their pillows before a test, presumably on the theory that knowledge might somehow seep in overnight.

When the family opened Hillmar, she taught them bookkeeping with a paper ledger.

She took in friends who needed a place to stay, beginning when her children were in high school and continuing throughout her life.

Sandie gave her children something even more valuable than any of these individual memories: she gave them permission to be creative, imaginative, curious, and a little bit ridiculous.

Some of their most cherished memories are of sitting with their mother at the piano, singing together.

Music was always there.

Among the songs Sandie loved in earlier years were “Summer Song” by Chad & Jeremy, “Today” by The New Christy Minstrels, “El Paso” by Marty Robbins, and “Wimoweh” by The Tokens. Later favorites included “Time to Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman and “Wind of Change” by Scorpions.

Music, family, animals, creativity, and laughter were woven through Sandie's life.

Besides Marvin, Margaux, and Hillary, many other people held a special place in her heart. She was deeply connected to her sister Joanne Hagen Wolfe Mosley and her nieces Lauri, Kim, and Lisa. She also cherished her mother, Dolly Lima; her brothers, Stan and Bud; Uncle Sam and Aunt Alice Hagen; and dear friends including Phylis Carusos, Lawrence Schneider, and Lana Messmore, who worked at Dad's office. She also had meaningful relationships with the many people at Hillmar Farm.

Sandie was deeply thankful for all of her wonderful caregivers, whose kindness and care meant so much to her and to her family.

Some members of the family were unable to travel to Georgia to be here today, but they are here in spirit. The love that connected Sandie to her family stretched far beyond geography.

Losing Sandie leaves a tremendous void. It is bittersweet to revisit these memories because they bring both laughter and the ache of knowing that we cannot make new ones with her.

But what a gift those memories are.

We will remember the woman who played the piano and sang. The aunt who dressed beautifully and then went trick-or-treating for cocktails. The mother who packed activity bags for every conceivable occasion, sewed costumes, decorated for Hanukkah, rescued animals, welcomed friends, and got up at five in the morning for horse shows.

We will remember her generosity, her artistic spirit, her beautiful voice, her love of animals, her sense of humor, and her willingness to enter fully into the imaginative worlds of the people she loved.

Most of all, we will remember how deeply she loved her family—and how deeply she was loved in return.

Sandie will be missed dearly. She will remain forever in the hearts of the people whose lives she touched, and her stories, her music, her laughter, and her love will continue through the generations.

May her memory be a blessing.

A Committal Service will be held at Arlington Memorial Park, 201 Mount Vernon Hwy, Sandy Springs, GA 30328, on September 28, 2026 at 1:00 pm.

A Reception will follow at H.M. Patterson & Son-Arlington Chapel, 173 Allen Road Ne, Sandy Springs, GA 30328.