Barbara Joan Sandler

and I always blamed her the war starting right after that. Ha!

She was the second daughter of two children from Dr. Jacob Chalfin MD. and his lovely wife my Ione Pearl Madison Chalfin RN

Sadly my mom lost her sister.. my lovely aunt Judy at a way too early age from a car accident as a young adult...But finally now the Chalfin sisters are together again playing in heaven

My mom had a great childhood growing up in this tiny town called Venice near Granite City Illinois and located right across the Mississippi River from St Louis

My grandpa built his doctor’s office with his wife as his registered nurse in the back rooms of same house that they Also lived in..

This way my grandparents could work together In the office but still be close to their children Barb and Judy as they grew......they had a great family life together !

My grandpa worked as the company doctor for the railroad employees And received free railroad tickets on the sleeper trains to many fabulous destinations such as Florida and Hollywood during its heyday in the 40s and 50s

And my mom said she had wonderful experiences from those trips

Then my mother found my father Stanley Jerry Sandler and they were married soon after they met in 1958.

I guess it was love at first sight !

Then my brother Michael was born in St. Louis in 1959

My parents then relocated to Phoenix after my dad finished his tour with the army in Ft Huachuca

They chose sunshine over snow.

Then I was born in October 1964 .... and she had no idea what was in store for her

I was a good kid that occasionally found trouble

but she was always Had my back

Even when she knew I was in the wrong

One of the fondest memories I have is where my mom and dad would take my brother and I to Kiddie Academy ... a long gone local amusement park for our birthday parties

My mom organized the parties and all our friends would be there to play and go on the rides ...and of course eat cake and ice cream

When we were children my mom was involved in PTA at our schools and very active in that ...as well as with the Jewish organization Hadassah where I remember her winning woman of the year in the 1979s

That’s when she wore a big beehive hairdo.

If you can imagine.

I remember she would come every year to my grade school and teach about Hanukkah to the children that were never exposed to that custom and that was also a very fond memory

After my brother and I were old enough to take care of ourselves my mother decided to go back to college and get her registered nurse degree which she received from Arizona State University

After that she began as an RN and quickly rose to the ranks of Head nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital on her floor ...and she held the title for her tenure there.

Unfortunately my dad passed early at age 54 but was lucky enough to have 34 years of marriage to my wonderful mom . And now she is by his side for eternity

After several years of giving all of her attention to her children and grandchildren..she decided she needed some more comfort and companionship in her life and met Jason Yaffi...A retired police Lieutenant from the Washington DC metropolitan police Dept and originally from Boston

They were married in December 2003 and just recently celebrated 16 years of marriage together

They found a common interest in taking pictures so they both joined the camera club in Sun City Arizona where she held various positions.

But mainly I think it was for the Tuesday night dinners out...that she often planned....

..because I never saw a decent picture that my mom took. Ha

Throughout her life My mom battled many medical obstacles but she never complained

Not a once about anything until the day she passed.

My mom had kidney Transplant ... that ran for 12 years and extended her quality of life but she also had many other Serious medical conditions...and I recently noticed that she started to slow down from the firecracker that everyone knew and loved

In fact we always joked ...if she could ...she’d would... play all 9 positions in a baseball game at once.

But unfortunately everything combined was too much for her tiny body to handle and she decided it was better to Rest In Peace

I will miss my mom but I will never lose the memories of her love and compassion for me and my brother as well as to her daughter-in-law‘s Karen and Sandy and her 2 grandchildren Nathan and Tiffany...

As well as being a fantastic aunt to her nieces and nephews Lisa and Jeffrey Kivett and

Richard (rip) and Jeffrey Kalina.

Thank you mom .. you truly were the best mother that anyone could’ve ever wished for

I love you and will forever miss you

Rest In Peace

Your Loving Son David

There will be a celebration of life luncheon following the Graveside service.