Obituary of Mary Alice Sands

Dr. Mary Alice Sands passed away on July 28, 2021 in Loveland, Colorado. She was 102. Mary was born January 16, 1919, on Green Creek, near Kettle, in Roane County, West Virginia. She was the eldest of the six children, five girls and one boy, of Daniel Smith and Mabel May (Hunt) Ryan.
Mary lived most of her childhood years in rural Roane County, West Virginia. She received a license to teach from Glenville State Normal School in Glenville, West Virginia, a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from West Virginia University in Morgantown, and a Ph.D. from Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania. She taught many years in elementary school as well as at the university level.
Mary married Carl Lee Sands in 1950 in Morgantown. Carl’s job working for the Carnation Milk Company took them through three inter-state moves. Their first home was in West Virginia and from there they moved to Ohio, then Kentucky, and finally to Colorado where they settled in Loveland.
After Carl’s death in 2008, Mary remained in their home for a number of years until moving into the Good Samaritan Loveland Village Assisted Living facility where she completed her final chapter of life. 
Mary had seen many things in her 102 years, and passed away peacefully at the end of her long life. 
Mary was preceded in death by her parents and all of her siblings and their spouses, Phoebe Cary (Oscar) Schubert, Helen May (Rutledge) Lindsay and (Carl) Cook, Lucy Charlotte (Boyd) Anderson, Martha Catherine (Bill) Shock, and John Edward Ryan. She was also preceded in death by her husband and most of his siblings and their spouses.
She is survived by both of her children, Samuel Carl (Cathy) Sands and Annette Lynne (Ys) Botello, and two sisters-in-law, Marjorie Elaine Boatright and Joycln Mae Sands. She is also survived by four grandchildren and three step-grandchildren and their spouses, four great-grandchildren and eight step-great-grandchildren. In addition, she is survived by many nieces, nephews, and their spouses and families.
A memorial service will be held at Viegut Funeral Home, 1616 N. Lincoln Ave., Loveland, CO 80538 on Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 11:00am. Inurnment at Johnstown Cemetery on August 24, 2022 at 11:00am.