Sandra Sheldon

Sandra (Sandi) Caroline Sheldon, born July 5, 1958, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Thomas and Donna (Weis) Sheldon, died September 14, 2024, in Woodbury, Minnesota, of Lewy Body Dementia. She was 66.

Sandi's father was a military officer; she moved 13 times to various states and countries before graduating from Woodbridge Senior High School in Woodbridge, Virginia.

She cherished her family, including her pets. Her mother was her world, and Sandi would do anything to make her happy. For decades Sandi spoke of living with all three sisters when everyone retired, no matter how many times she was told that wasn't going to happen.

Sandi was a great friend who recognized the challenges people faced (and created for themselves) without judgment.

She was a lifelong jokester who spun elaborate stories in such detail and with such earnestness that she convinced even the most skeptical friend, co-worker, or family member that she had, for instance, enrolled her dog in a doggie soccer league, with weekly Saturday morning matches, complete with tiny jerseys with names on them. She was undeterred, she said, by the fact that the dogs never scored because they had so much fun.

From an early age, Sandi knew she wanted to be a nurse. She graduated from the University of Oshkosh School of Nursing in 1981 with her BSN degree and began work as a psychiatric nurse in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

She was a staunch patient advocate and fervent about keeping up with the latest developments in her field. She was drawn to helping patients suffering from mental illness, and her way of explaining it to them and their family members made their illnesses much less frightening.

After 40 years working in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Sandi retired to Madison, Wisconsin, in 2021.

She is survived by her mother, Donna; her sisters, Susan, Patricia, and Nancy Bertino; a brother-in-law, Jack Bertino; a niece, Jacquelyn Bertino; and a nephew, John Bertino. She was preceded in death by her father, Thomas Sheldon.

Donations to your favorite pet charity may be made in lieu of flowers.