Sandra Lemon

Sandra Worthington Lemon

1941 - 2024

Early in the morning of April 20, emanating from the heavens above, a voice shouted "Boomer!" Without pause, Sandra Worthington Lemon, a life-long OU fan, replied "Sooner" leaving us to join her recently departed husband, family, friends, and members of the heavenly Sooner Nation.

Sandra was born July 18, 1941 in Lamar, Colorado to parents Clyde and Virginia Worthington. Legally, her parents assigned Lamar as her middle name, but later in life she decided to ditch the geographical reference in favor of adopting her maiden name as her middle name. Two years after her birth, her young childhood family was completed with the birth of brother, Brantley. Brant (as he prefers) would serve as lifelong supporter as well as cantankerous nemesis throughout Sandra's life.

Early on, the family settled in Midwest City, Oklahoma. She enjoyed kick-the-can games during summer evenings while cicadas sang in the trees above. She remembered gathering at the windows of the local Dawsons Hardware Store when the first televisions were created. In 1959, she graduated from Midwest City High School and went on to attend Oklahoma University (OU) where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and French in 1963. She was a proud member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, her reputation tarnished only when her brother and his friends placed a car on the porch of the sorority house! She would meet her 1st husband, Dr. John Glomset, and lifelong friend, Joanne Webster, while attending OU.

After graduating from OU in 1963, Sandra was married and got her 1st job teaching Okie high-schoolers French and Spanish. There, she met another lifelong friend, Barbara Sethney, with whom she would take the trip of a lifetime to Europe on a shoestring budget staying in hostels infested by termites while immersing themselves in European culture.

The spring of 1967 marked the arrival of Sandra's twin girls, Kara and Kristi. 3 years later, her son Kyle was born just as her first marriage dissolved and a new chapter was destined to begin. Just two years later, after a trip to Alaska where she met a handsome Irishman named David Lemon, Sandra moved she and her 3 kids to California where she was married for the second time and the Lemon Family was born. Finally in 1973 the family moved to Lompoc, California where roots were planted strongly (pun intended).

Sandra's first love was for family and friends. She and her friends Joanne and Barbara remained close throughout her life. Barbara and Sandra both had twins, were ruthless rivals in the game of Canasta, and both died within weeks of each other. She and her brother Brant enjoyed pranking each other. At one point in time, we remember when mom hired a dump truck to drop a load of manure on Brant's lawn in retaliation for one of his previous pranks. Her children and grandchildren will always remember Sandra's emphasis on the powers of education and self-responsibility. It is said in our family that hers was the only opinion that mattered, whether you agreed with that opinion or not!

Sandra was a lover of cooking for others, emphasizing southern comfort food and delicious desserts. One of her piece de resistance creations was chocolate fudge that had no rival. The recipe is as vague as a witch's spell, requiring wind from the south, a quarter moon, and the month to be odd and the day even to prevent disaster when setting the gooey mixture into a pan to magically form the smooth silky texture we loved so much. Tradition in the Lemon family revolved around food, with every year starting with black eyed peas and okra and ending with "The Big Three" dinners approaching Christmas. Much of mom's recipes required instructions such as "a little bit of" and "about a......" My sister compiled a cookbook of our family's favorite recipes years back, a book that requires quite a bit of creative interpretation of the instructions contained therein.

OU Sooner football reigned supreme around the household in the fall. He or she who suggested their needs and desires were more important than watching the game was in for an education on life priorities. In her 80's, mom was one of the oldest women contributors to the Sooner Nation Discussion Page, with the handle" LompokieOkie". It took a special event to convince mom to wear other than one her Sooner sweatshirts, the collection left behind worthy of museum display!

Mom was active in her community of Lompoc. For years she worked in real estate and mortgage processing after earning her real estate license. She was active in The American Association of University Women, The Gourmet Cooking Club, United Methodist Women, and the United Methodist Church Worship Committee.

Her pets were as integral to her family as any other member. She loved her cocker spaniels and tolerated the cats. Her latest love, a mutt named Winston, was her companion up until the day she died.

The hole in our family left behind by her passing is gaping. Sandra and David passed within 2 months of each other, and we are sure he is surprised to be in the celestial dog house so soon after he left her without warning. We will honor her memory by carrying on the

traditions of Sooner football, fellowship through food and cooking, encouraging self- responsibility and education in our own children, and service to others.

The family would like to genuinely thank the staff and nurses at Lompoc Skilled and Rehab for their personal and loving care of mom in her last weeks of life. Several of the staff at the facility went out of their way to provide her loving support that meant the world to us.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday May 17th at First United Methodist Church, 925 North F Street, Lompoc, California. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Lompoc Master Chorale.