Sally C. Heys

John 3:16-17

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Sally Carol Sandberg Heys sunrise Dec 5, 1944  sunset April 21, 2023.

I was born in Dayton, Ohio on December 5, 1944, the first child and only daughter of Robert William Sandberg and Barbara Jaqueline Wanda Holt Sandberg.   Three brothers followed my arrival, David Richard in 1946  and twins Stephen Robert and Thomas William in 1951.

Ours was a close knit loving family.  I have many happy memories of our time together.  We lived for the first ten years of my life on High Street in Dayton, Ohio.

I attended Ruskin School through the third grade.  My mother and father were building a house for us out in the country in Jefferson Township.  It took ten years as my father could only work on the house when he was not traveling for NCR.

The family moved  to the new house on Kreitzer Road just in time for me to start fourth grade at Jefferson Township School.   It was a good place to grow up.  Our  neighbors on Kreitzer Road had about 40 kids to play with  and there was usually a ball game going on in the vacant field.

While living on Kreitzer Road, the family attended a little country church, Liberty Evangelical United Brethren Church where we children all were baptized and confirmed.  I still use the Bible the church gave me when I graduated  from High School.  I treasure all the saints of that church who led me to a strong faith in our loving, Holy God!   The EUBs merged with the Methodist church  in the 1960’s (?) and when I moved away, I started attending the Fairborn United Methodist Church.  Our family ( Bob, Sally, and Jenny Heys) joined them in membership in 1979.  We rejoice in the fellowship and love the saints there have always shown us!

I graduated from Jefferson Township High School in 1963 as valedictorian.  I  am grateful to all the wonderful teachers and staff who  opened our minds to the larger world and the joy of learning something new every day!   Once I graduated from high school,

I attended Ohio University in Athens from Sept 1963 until I graduated with honors in May 1967. I believed I wanted to be an elementary school teacher but after graduation found that was not the niche best suited for me. I began working for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in 1968 and learned to program the really old computers complete with punch cards and printouts. I worked there until I retired in 1997.

During that time, I met my wonderful husband, Bob Heys. We married May 27, 1972. Our only daughter, Jennifer Lynn, was born Oct 23, 1976. We had the usual ups and downs of life but continued to love and take care of one another until Bob and Jenny both passed away in 2019.  Bob passed away January 28 and Jenny passed away May 6.  It was so hard to lose both of them, but I know they are together in Heaven.  

After I retired, I worked for a year or so in our church's daycare for Toddlers. I loved it, but when Mom and Dad needed to move to Ohio from Wisconsin in1998, I became their advocate and general all round caretaker. Mom passed in 2005 and Dad in 2011. I miss them every day and was so glad to have them so close to share their lives with us.

Our daughter, Jennifer married and had a beautiful granddaughter for us, Kaycee Bunn born in 2000. I took care of her from the beginning while her Mom and Dad worked. She is very special to me as I did not get to stay home with our own daughter while she was growing up. Now twenty, she turned into a fine young woman. She is the joy of my life!  My brothers, David, Tom, and Steve are all doing well and we have all remained close emotionally if not geographically. A special shout out goes to my nieces Tina, Christina,and great-nephew Jerry who helped me so much.

I also enjoyed working on preserving the family stories that Mom and Dad told us kids as we were growing up. I find the stories far more interesting than the bare biographical facts. I become more aware every day of what a privilege it was to "grow up Sandberg". My folks always stressed the importance of loving God, America, our family, other people, and oneself! That is why I would like to pass on the one lesson I have learned in my life’s journey:

It takes a lifetime to become who we are meant to be. What seems important when we are young may turn out to be not so important. What matters in the long run are God, love, and leaving the world a little better than we found it. I have been truly blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family and friends. Even more importantly, I rejoice that none of us is ever truly alone because we have a loving God who cares deeply about each and every one of us. I wish all the best to each one of you on your life’s journey!

 Love, Sally Sandberg Heys"

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday April 26, 2023 at 12:00 noon at Belton-Stroup Funeral Home, 422 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs, Fairborn, Pastor Aaron Chivington officiating.  The family will receive friends from 11:00 A.M. until the time of service.

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