Sandra (Sandi) Lynn Smith, of Bryan, Texas and Vancouver, Washington, died February 24, 2019 at Hospice Brazos Valley Inpatient Facility, Bryan, Texas. She was born September 20, 1947 in Ottumwa, Iowa to Phyllis and Clinton Delzell. For most of her childhood the family lived on a ranch near Fallon, Nevada from where they enjoyed trips to Reno, Lake Tahoe, and San Francisco. They moved back to Iowa when Sandi was a high school freshman and her father took on the family farm near Bloomfield. Sandi graduated from Bloomfield High School in 1965 and attended Northeast Missouri State University where she majored in education and played clarinet in the concert and marching bands. She met her husband, Andy, in the band and they were married in Bloomfield on December 26, 1966.
Sandi and Andy raised three sons in Clear Lake (Houston), Texas while Sandi continued her education and worked as an Administrative Assistant at IBM Federal Systems Division in support of the NASA Space Shuttle Program. In 1993 they moved to Bryan, Texas where Sandi worked at Texas A&M University as an Administrative Assistant and Senior Academic Advisor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She was beloved by her students and the faculty and received the TAMU President’s Award for Academic Advising in 2009. She and Andy retired in 2013 and enjoyed making a second home in Vancouver, Washington where they lived near one of their sons and his family and savored the summer climate and beautiful scenery of the Pacific Northwest.
Sandi loved playing the piano, everything about Christmas, shopping, chocolate, and the color, red! She was generous and warm with her family (especially the grandchildren), her good friends, and those she served at work and through her volunteer activities. She was an active church member and community volunteer most of her adult life. Most recently in Bryan-College Station she served on the Justice and Missions Committee of Friends Congregational Church – UCC, worked in the gift shop at Crestview Retirement Community, and was a board member of the Brazos Church Pantry where she also regularly volunteered. In Vancouver she volunteered in Project Transformation, a summer reading program for children at Mill Plain United Methodist Church and at Friends in Service to Humanity Food and Clothing Bank (F.I.S.H. of Orchards).
Sandi is survived by her husband, Andy Smith of Bryan, TX and Vancouver, WA; sons, David Smith of Houston, TX, Matt Smith (spouse Tami) of Vancouver, WA, and Doug Smith (spouse Carrie) of Leander, TX; five grandchildren – Sawyer, Nicolas, Piper, Avery, and Marshall Smith; sister, Susan Farrell of Des Moines, IA and brother, David Delzell of Bloomfield, IA. She was preceded in death by her parents.
A public memorial service will be held at Friends Congregational Church – UCC, College Station, Texas March 2, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. A service at Mill Plain United Methodist Church, Vancouver, Washington will be scheduled during the summer. The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made in Sandi’s name to Brazos Church Pantry, F.I.S.H. of Orchards, Hospice Brazos Valley, and the American Cancer Society.
Cremation services are in the care of Callaway-Jones Funeral and Cremation Centers.
Express your condolences at CallawayJones.com
Love you both. Thinking of you and your family.
She was kind, cheerful, and always willing to help whenever I met her. A truly wonderful advisor! May she rest in peace with the LORD.
Doug and the Smith Family,
My heart goes out to you for your loss. Thinking about you and your family at this time.
Sandi was such a helpful adviser. She would be in my heart for ever.
Hello,
I’m a graduate student in the Physics and Astronomy department at Texas A&M. When I came to the US from abroad, Sandi was the first one to greet me and welcome me to this whole new world. I am ever so grateful for her welcoming attitude and charming person. I am very sadden to hear about her passing. May she forever be blessed. Thank you.
Heshani Jayatissa
I simply want to say that it has been an honor and privilege to know such a caring and compassionate lady as Sandi. I have no doubt that she is now in heaven.
My deepest condolences to her wonderful family at the loss of this exceptional lady.
She was a kind and an excellent academic adviser. Aggie physicists will miss you.
I hope God bless your life in the heaven and your family.
She was a marvelous person, very kind and active. As it said my former student and now a leading scientist at Los Alamos Nat. Lab. Nikolai Sinitsyn in his dissertation, she bravely defended us against the world bureaucracy. We always will miss her.
Andy and family,
I am so very sorry for your loss. May you experience God’s comfort and sustaining presence in tangible ways during this season of grief.
Please express my sympathy to the family. I graduated with Sandy in the class of 65 and shared many good times with her.
My sincere sympathy to Sandy’s family. I graduated with Sandy in 1965 and was also member of our H.S. band with Sandy. She was such a sweet and caring classmate.
I would like to thank the niece who posted the obit on FB — otherwise, I don’t know how I would have found out. I was a friend from HS and church in Bloomfield and was a bridesmaid in her wedding. Unfortunately, we lost touch after that. I’ve never been a good letter writer and I’m not a user of social media even though I have a FB account. I remember Sandi with great fondness from our time in HS. She was always so lively and ready to have a good time. I can tell from the obit that she retained those qualities throughout her life and was greatly beloved by many people. I wish I would have followed through on an idea I had a few years ago to come see her in TX. I know our friendship would have still been strong. Although her loss will leave a big hole in the lives of her family, I will pray for you to gather strength from each other as you move forward in your lives.