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Kathleen Sands Obituary
Phoenix - Kathleen Marie (Kay) Sands, née Mullen, 79, of Phoenix, Arizona, died on December 25, 2018, in Alexandria, Virginia, from complications of heart and lung disease.
Kay was born in Portland, Oregon, on August 22, 1939. Later she lived in Spokane, Washington, Cocoa Beach, Florida, Tucson, Arizona, and Tempe, Arizona.
Kay graduated from St. Mary's Academy in Portland, Oregon in 1957, earned a Bachelor of Arts from Holy Names College (Gonzaga University) in Spokane, Washington in 1961, and a Master of Arts in 1973 and Ph.D. in Literature from the University of Arizona in 1977. While in Cocoa Beach, she worked for CBS New York, supporting coverage of the Apollo moon landings. Later, Kay became a professor of folklore and American Indian literature in the English department at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. Her book publications include Autobiography of a Yaqui Poet (1980) and Charrería Mexicana, An Equestrian Folk Tradition (1993). She served a term as president of the Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures, was a Fulbright scholar at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, and frequently travelled back to Greece to visit close friends. She was a visiting professor at the University of Coimbra in Porto, Portugal as well as at Portland State University.
Kay was intelligent, well-read and travelled, independent, and had a good sense of humor. She was very knowledgeable about politics, history, and current events. She regularly enjoyed meeting up with friends and family to share meals, talk, and laugh. Her favorite drink was Coca-Cola and she enjoyed mystery novels and shows. She had an adventurous streak as well -- throughout her lifetime, she enjoyed driving sports cars, riding horseback through South Mountain Park, and visiting her friend's sheep ranch in Colorado. She adopted several cats and dogs over the years from the Arizona Humane Society and loved her dog Tessa and cat Mango.
Kay was preceded in death by parents, Raymond Mullen and Elma Mullen, née Mercier, and brother, Lawrence Mullen. She is survived by her son, Brian and his wife Leslie of Alexandria; her daughter, Teryl and her husband, Darren of Phoenix; and grandchildren, Nina and Johannes.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kay's name to the Arizona Humane Society.
We appreciate the love and support that Kay gave us and will miss her dearly.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Kathleen Sands
Jeanie R. Brink
May 13, 2022
Safe travels.
June 16, 2019
I was thinking of Kay and realized I hadn't heard from her in a long time, so went to her Facebook page and saw the notice from Brian. I really enjoyed Kay's company and admired her so much. So sorry for your loss Brian and Teryl and family. Nan Devlin
Entrance to the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania
Ahadi Senzighe
January 27, 2019
I can only say GOODBYE dear friend.
You were one person I knew so little about, yet, learned to love and respect very much.
Even the little greetings, jokes and/or quotes we exchanged at times were with love, respect and much admiration.
I am going to miss you given the fact that I can no longer send you a good joke, an exotic African dance video or audio song.
Rest in peace and say something nice about us to THE BIG ONE just as we shall continue praying for you for a good rest in Heaven.
KAY SANDS.
January 18, 2019
Kay's gift to me was her mentorship and support when I first came to ASU as junior faculty. She was also instrumental in bringing me to ASU, which I didn't learn until later. She was a formidable colleague with a no-nonsense approach. I respected her and her work in Native American lit and Native Women's lit, having been one of the first professors to teach Native Lit in the English department and probably in the SW.
To support female graduate students, she held pot luck gatherings at her home. I was always invited and learned a great deal about mentoring students from her example.
I was impressed that she used to own and ride horses and what a cool car she once owned. I'll miss her and our lunches we used to have twice a year.
I hope her journey was full of light. Condolences to her family and friends.
Laura Tohe
January 18, 2019
Kay's gift to me was her mentorship and support when I first came to ASU as junior faculty. She was also instrumental in bringing me to ASU, which I didn't learn until later. She was a formidable colleague with a no-nonsense approach. I respected her and her work in Native American lit and Native Women's lit, having been one of the first professors to teach Native Lit in the English department and probably in the SW.
To support female graduate students, she held pot luck gatherings at her home. I was always invited and learned a great deal about mentoring students from her example.
I was impressed that she used to own and ride horses and what a cool car she once owned. I'll miss her and our lunches we used to have twice a year.
I hope her journey was full of light. Condolences to her family and friends.
Elizabeth Horan
January 14, 2019
Kay was a wonderful colleague in the English Dept at ASU. She knew people throughout the university and was very deeply respected. Many's the time when I'd be chatting with someone from another dept and they'd ask if I knew Kay Sands and ask me to say hello. She was a rigorous and very fair dissertation advisor and her books were, each one of them, excellent. Her last book, "Telling a Good One," with the U of AZ press, about storytelling, was entirely based on interviews, at which she was a complete pro.
One of my best experiences as junior faculty member was teaching Kay's Folklore class when she went away for a semester. She gave me her syllabus and directions for what books to use. I learned a lot about how to do research, any kind of research, from that class. Her sense of humor was superb and she was very justly proud of her children and grandchildren.
Finally, I remember meeting her father and how she introduced me to him "tribally." Rather than saying "this is so-and-so, my colleague from ASU, she said, "Dad, this is Elizabeth, she's an Irish girl from back East."
Kay will be much missed.
Debby
January 8, 2019
It won't seem like summer without Kay here to make her pilgrimage to her parents' old home in Tolovana. That's where she was staying when we first met. She brought the kids up every summer to cool off and spend time with their grandparents: beachcombing, cutting firewood and hearing a million stories, I'm sure.
Her cousin Jim (who drove her crazy) brought her down to our house in Manzanita around 1978 and we've remained friends over all those years. That's one thing you could always say about Kay - once she decided you were her friend, you were friends forever.
We made a lot of road trips over the years and always enjoyed driving up to Deming to visit with her first PhD student John, his wife Cindy, and son Carl. We were very fortunate to have them down here for a great meal and visit on Kay's last beach trip north this past summer.
Visiting Connie on the ranch was always special to Kay. It was truly her second home and she never missed a summer up there until the drive became too hard. Visiting Susie and David was also special to Kay and I'll never forget the amazing winter picnic we had while David gave us a guided tour of Native American sites on the desert.
Kay's love of indigenous people - their literature and culture - was respectful, deep and boundless. She devoted much of her life and all of her career to preserving their stories. She may not have had a blood connection, but her heart was with the native peoples of the Southwest.
We won't even start on her love for Greece and being there with Bob and Kathleen. Of course, her family was first and foremost with Kay, and they know how strong her love for all of them will always be. She was so proud of Nina and Johannes and I'm glad she was here long enough to see them grow up.
She was a force to be reckoned with and I've never met anyone quite like her. Never at a loss for words- or an opinion- I'll miss you old friend.
January 8, 2019
I had the great pleasure to meet Professor Sands in the last year. She had a true intellect tempered by compassionate humility. She will be missed.
Connie Theos
January 6, 2019
What can I say about Kay? There was truly no better friend, no matter what she always had my back. Kay and I did so many things together, we rode horses, we spent time with sheep, we traveled to Greece, we played cards, we read, and we talked and talked about everything both important and trivial. We both loved Border Collies, I found Tessa for her along with Gracie who died here at our ranch and was unable to return to Kay as did Tessa. I do miss her, and will miss her every day. I'm fortunate that I can listen to her voice from time to time because I have tapes of an interview she did with my Dad about his life as a Greek sheepman. It is a fun interview because Kay and my Dad were good friends too. Perhaps they have already gotten together and found my Uncles Dino, Tom and Mike to sit down and BS....which is what we all did best. God Bless, as I know that is where you are. Hugs always! Con
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