Sandra Elaine Ames

Sandra Elaine Ames was born in 1937 in Grants Pass, Oregon to Elaine Catherine and Lester William Harbeck. She died January 3, 2026 in Monroe, NC.

In December 1941, tragedy struck in Sandy's young life when her father was taken prisoner by the Japanese at Wake Island in the Pacific where he had been building U.S. airstrips. He remained a POW for the duration of World War 2. Sandy lived in Medford, Bend, and Klamath Falls, Oregon while her mother worked for the U.S. Army. Found alive in Japan after the war, her father returned to the family. He and his wife divorced in 1946 and Sandy moved with her mother and sister Carol to Pensacola, FL where her mother began working for the U.S. Navy. Her mother married James Price Piper and had twin girls, Jeanne and Joanne. Sandy attended Saint John Catholic School, Warrington Junior High and Pensacola High School, graduating in 1955.

While working at Preflight at the Pensacola Naval Air Station, Sandy met naval aviator Fred Schad with whom she had her first son, put up for adoption in 1957. She and Fred married in December 1958. They moved to Columbus, OH in 1959, had three more children and Sandy was a homemaker until their divorce. Sandy and her children moved to Atlanta, GA in 1971. Five years later she moved to Douglasville, GA where she became an administrative secretary for Georgia Legal Services. She moved to Colorado in 1986 where she worked for the law office of Wegher & Associates in Lakewood, then the Federal Public Defender in Denver. She married Brent Ames in 1989 in Colorado. After Brent's death, Sandy ran a daycare in her home and lovingly took care of several children and remained in contact with them throughout her life. In 1994 she reunited with her son, Phil and his family. She returned to Pensacola, FL in 1995 to be near her elderly mother and worked for Mercy Medical and Northwest Florida Legal Services until she retired at age 72. In January 2021, Sandy and her sister Carol moved to North Carolina to be closer to family.

Sandy was a believer in Jesus, a compassionate, loving person and a hippie at heart. She treasured time with family, taking care of babies, watching The Chosen, delighting in nature (especially her garden in Florida), listening to classic rock music, and fighting for justice. She was particularly concerned about the plight of Native Americans.

Sandy was preceded in death by her husband Brent Carter Ames, her first husband Frederick Marvin Schad, her parents, and her sisters Jeanne Ciaurro and Joanne Smith. She is survived by her sister Sr. Carol Ann Harbeck, RSM, half-brother William Harbeck (Karren), children Philip William Collins (Colleen), Frederick Douglas Schad, Gregory Mitchell Schad (Stacy), Jeri Ellen Schad Zangmeister (Jim), grandchildren Erin Collins, MacKenzie Collins Benson (Michael), Lindsay Beatrice Schad, Nicholas Brendan Schad (Brooke), Katy Ellen Schad Jackson (Mark), Daniel August Zangmeister (Ellen), Jonathan Alden Zangmeister (Stefani), Jessica Claire Zangmeister Roberts (Caleb), five great grandchildren, nephews Michael Ciaurro, Seth Harbeck, and niece Dyan Ciaurro Lee as well as grand nieces, nephews and her most favorite people of all …her cats Miley and Deana.

There will be a memorial service for Sandy on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. at All Saints Anglican Church, 5328 Hemby Rd., Weddington, NC 28104. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or the Native American Rights Fund. Sandy will be interred next to her late husband Brent in Altamont, Utah.