Obituary published on Legacy.com by Hafemeister Funeral Home and Cremation Service on Oct. 1, 2025.
Sandy was a loving and caring person who enjoyed life, nature and helping people. Her great passion was education and working at Circle Camps, which is noted below.
Sandy was an incredibly motivated person. Her pursuits in life included both nature and higher education. She lived on an organic farm with her husband, two dogs, a pair of working horses and a flock of chickens. She was an avid photographer; the natural world was her favorite subject.
Sandy was always busy, hiking, biking and skiing with her friends and husband. In the winter, Greg, her husband and his brother (Dick, deceased) groomed cross country ski trails with the horses on their farm for a season of outdoor activity. When there was no snow, they skated on the river by the house. Sandy loved life and worked hard to enjoy every moment of it.
She received a Bachelors Degree in Education from the Allegheny College in PA, and taught third grade at Lincoln School in Menominee MI. She then moved to southern WI to accept a position as Director of the Gifted and Talented program in Beaver Dam, and a few years later, principal of Lincoln Elementary School. She secured her doctorate in administration from UW Madison, and accepted a position as Director of Teaching and Learning in Beaver Dam.
After her formal retirement from education, she went on to receive a Life Coaching Certificate, helping others navigate the educational doctorate system.
She spent many summers at Camp Tapawingo, in Sweden ME, where she worked leading adventure trips, bunk counseling, organizing and making sure things were safe and fun.
Her great joy, and where she spent the last 20 summers as both staff and volunteer, was at Circle Camps, a non-profit camp for girls who have experienced the loss of a parent. Sandy took them hiking and camping in a safe environment with other children who have had a similar experiences.
Garbo (Sandy) was more than a leader; she was a steady presence, a passionate advocate for grieving children, and a fierce believer in the transformative power of camp. Garbo's passion and life's work was serving children, and she did it so well at Circle Camps. She made every camper feel seen, heard, and valued. Circle Camps was the passion of her late life. Please send any memorials in her honor to: Circle Camps @
https://www.circlecamps.org/garbo.html
Sandy is survived by her husband, Greg David, her sister Monique (Greg McConnell) Garbowicz, Pamela (Jason) Bloomfield, nieces and nephews Jeremy Bloomfield (Jessica Bailey) and Taylor Bloomfield (Amanda Long) and many other relatives and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents.
A Celebration of Life service will be held for family and friends on Saturday, Sept 20, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, at the farm, W4512 Riverdale Lane,
Watertown, WI.
Hafemeister Funeral Home and Cremation Service is serving the family. Online condolences may be left at www.HafemeisterFH.com.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sandra, please visit our floral store.