Sandra Faye Smith

Sandra Faye Smith, 77 of Dubuque, Iowa passed away peacefully on October 31, 2020 at Unity Point Health, Finley Hospital. Private family service and burial will be held at Mueller Chapel, Linwood Cemetery. A livestream of the funeral service will be at 2:00 p.m. Friday on Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory's Facebook page. Online condolences may be left at  www.leonardfuneralhome.com. A celebration of Sandy’s life to gather, share love and toasts will be held in the spring for all of her family and friends.

Sandy was born on October 28, 1943 in Knoxville, TN the daughter of Vernon and Frances (Bible) Smith. Sandy moved to Dubuque to worked as a pre-need counselor for Linwood Cemetery. She would tell her Dubuque friends “I am only here for a year!” That year extended to 35 years as General Manager of Linwood Cemetery. She took pride in establishing the avenue of over 300 flags that would be on display every Memorial Day at the cemetery. Sandy spear-headed bringing the Vietnam wall to Linwood in 1998, giving many tri-state veterans time to reflect.   It was a thrill for her to lead the wall out on the back of Rick’s Harley.

Sandy worked tirelessly to make Linwood one the most beautiful cemetery’s in the state. You would always find Sandy mowing the grass in the spring or plowing the snow in the winter, she was a hands-on manager. Sandy served as President of the Iowa Cemetery Association for many years. After retirement from Linwood, Sandy dabbled at various jobs to keep busy. She enjoyed her position with RTA where she transported handy capable individuals to sheltered employment jobs. Every holiday she would put festive hats on to bring laughter and smiles to her clients.

Free time you would find Sandy on her boat, fishing in the Mississippi or on Lakes in Minnesota with one or two of her dogs helping her “catch the big one”. Sandy was famous for her fish fry’s at Midtown Marina, sharing the bounty with her friends.

There wasn’t an animal that came into her life that she didn’t love or spoil. She will be sadly missed by her “Doodle” Bella who was the love of o her life. Bella was always by her side giving her kisses and snuggles. Bella will now be with her sister doodles Mia and Molly of whom Sandy adored too.

Sandy often said when I pass away a lot of people will not know who Sandy Smith was. To her Dubuque friends, she was “Linwood” and then dubbed “Wood” by her three boys (Jaxon, Willem and Grey) that loved her so.

Sandy is survived by her sister Judy Cooper (Gene Torres), of Delray Beach, Florida; a niece Melissa Johnson and nephews Michael and Marcus Cooper along with many friends who loved her dearly.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her niece Michelle Cooper.

Thank you to the entire staff at UnityPoint Health, Finley Hospital as well as Dr. Kristin Nelson and Joannie for all their care and kindness. A special thank you to Alex at UnityPoint at Home who provided Sandy the best care as well as a few laughs on the way!

“So here is to you Sandy, Linwood, Wood; we love you and we hope you are flying and breathing free finally. You will be so missed.

In lieu of flowers memorials may be given to the Dubuque Humane Society. 

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.