Dr. Sandra "Sandi" Mary Nagel

Dr. Sandra "Sandi" Nagel passed away on March 27, 2022, just two days shy of her 70th birthday. She took her last breath at home, facing her beloved front window where the sun shone over the lake. She showed great courage, grace, and even curiosity during her year-long battle with uterine carcinosarcoma. Sandi was a woman of big dreams, big inspirations, big feelings, and big passion—she threw her heart and soul into everything. She was driven by a strong desire to connect deeply with others as well as to connect ideas and inspirations. Sandi was born on March 29, 1952. She attended Cody High School and was a proud Detroiter. Some of her earliest childhood friendships remained the strongest throughout her life. Intellectually curious and brilliant, Sandi started her academic career as a researcher in psychology, psychiatry, and neurology at Henry Ford Hospital and the University of Michigan, where she earned a doctorate in Biopsychology. She remained a Wolverine fan all of her life. She was an associate professor of psychology at Saginaw Valley State University from 1999 until her retirement in 2017. During her tenure, she was a talented educator and mentor to many students pursuing careers in psychology, neuroscience, and education. Her research passions included the mechanisms of attention, ADHD, and migraine, and she was a published author for research in all of these areas. She was also very passionate about the role of psychology and neuroscience in shaping education and teacher training. Although she found great meaning in her scientific endeavors, she had the true spirit of an artist. Inspired by the fashions in her husband's home country of England and eager for a creative endeavor, she founded Breeziway, an atelier of hats, hair pieces, fascinators, veils, and other accessories. She was the sole designer/milliner and created beautiful pieces for weddings and other formal events. She took great joy in the fact that her designs were worn by people on some of the happiest days in their lives. Her award-winning designs were featured in numerous local and national bridal and fashion publications and were selected by curators on multiple years to be displayed at the Kentucky Derby Museum. In her retirement, she cherished the time she had to help care for her grandson, Cameron, as well as travel throughout Europe with her husband, Paul. She had many fond memories of Europe, including when she married Paul in the English countryside, surrounded by his beautiful family and her own. Sandi had both an expansive mind and an expansive heart. She loved to gather family and friends in her home with a big spread of delicious food. Among her specialties were chicken paprikash, deviled eggs, and clam dip. She never served just one dessert to her guests. She adored many pets in her lifetime and considered them members of her family, including most recently her cats Piper and Tori. She was prolific on social media and never afraid to share her opinions! In her later years, she devoted intense energy to genealogical research, largely with the goal of locating her long-lost maternal cousins in Ukraine. It was a triumph when she was finally able to make these connections and even in the last days of her life, she was advocating for assistance for the people of Ukraine. Sandi believed in deep connection, belly laughs, and finding beauty in the world. She embraced imperfection and found joy in the simplest things, such as pictures of her loved ones, flowers, and walks in the park. She loved rock music, hummingbirds, social revolution, and Salvador Dali. Her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. Her life brought its fair share of loss and trauma but in spite of that, or perhaps because of that, she always fought her way back to that fire in her belly and a unique joie de vivre. It is these qualities that her daughters will cherish most when finding the strength to grieve her loss. Sandi was predeceased by her parents, Emil Nagel and Ann Pentelichuk Nagel, as well as her sister Susan Nagel Lovell. She will be dearly missed by her husband Paul Whitworth and her daughters, Kirstin (Sarah Byrne) Leiby (aka "Grunchie") and Jennifer Leiby (aka "Blabs"), whom she co-parented with friend and former spouse Chris Leiby (deceased). Sandi was beloved by her two grandchildren, Soliana Leiby and Cameron Burger. She is also survived by her stepchildren John, Eve, Kris, Rik, and Jai Whitworth, as well as their children. Sandi's vibrant spirit will live on in all of her loved ones. A celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 15 at the Birmingham Unitarian Church - 38651 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304. The family is currently working with the University of Michigan to establish an appropriate fund in her memory. More details should be available to share at the memorial service.