Sandra Louise McEntire Bean

1936 - 2021

Sandra Louise McEntire Bean was born Dec. 30, 1936 in Ogden, Utah, to Clora Louise Daniels Brown and Gilbert Hegsted McEntire. She grew up in Farr West, Utah, in a large, extended family that included her younger sister, Sheila. Later, she moved to the Pacific Northwest where she lived for more than 50 years.

Sandra was a painter, musician, artist, and master gardener whose lovely creations fed her soul and brought joy to others. She fondly recalled selling flowers from her Grandmother Jenny's garden when she was a little girl, an experience that planted the seeds of her own lifelong passion for growing flowers. Many of her grandchildren enjoyed helping their Nana grow sweet peas and other beautiful blossoms. She also received community recognition for her green thumb when she was awarded blue ribbons from the "Edmonds in Bloom" festival for the breath-taking flowers spilling out of her window boxes.

Her professional career included working as a paralegal at the Securities and Exchange Commission in Seattle while earning a college degree and raising a growing family. Always positive and optimistic, she loved a challenge and climbed mountains, kayaked on Puget Sound, and free-skied the slopes of Mount Rainier.

Her life revolved around two constants: Family and Faith. She not only loved her children, but was also the consummate Nana, spoiling and rejoicing in grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She adored her husband Ron, who filled her life with adventure, romance, and fun.

A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Sandra volunteered in many roles, including serving the youth and teaching both adults and children. In her later years, she and Ron served two humanitarian missions in Africa as the Country Directors for Uganda and Zimbabwe, overseeing Church efforts to bring clean water, wheelchairs, and other needed resources to local communities. She had a great love for the people she served, including those in Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Malawi, South Africa, and Zambia.

Sandra was a beauty both inside and out. Her indomitable spirit and energy are now at work in other realms - no doubt blessing all those whom she reaches as she has blessed us.

After a memorial at the Harbour Pointe building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mukilteo, Washington, she was laid to rest at Evergreen Washelli Cemetery in Seattle. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in her name to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She is survived by her husband Ron, her children Matthew Latimer (Pamela), Darcy Sefcik (Mark), Torri Nilson (Rex), Kami Jacobsen, and her sister, Sheila Davis (Dennis); her stepchildren Roger Bean (Perry), Janell Bean, Brian Bean, Brett Bean (Julie); and 21 grandchildren and 8 great-grandchildren.

December 30, 1936 - March 26, 2021