Sandra Lee Smith Mueller

Sandra Lee Smith Mueller was born to Pairlee Tackett and Charles Elmer Smith, May 12, 1939, in Ogden, Utah, and passed away on December 19, 2025, peacefully at home in her bed, surrounded by her beloved children, grandchildren, and her two dogs.

Sandy grew up in humble circumstances that shaped her resilience and work ethic. From a young age, she learned to persevere and keep moving forward regardless of hardship. These traits stayed with her for life.

She lived in Ogden, Utah; Aurora, Colorado; and ultimately Layton, Utah, where she spent more than four decades making a home filled with warmth and beauty. Sandra was tireless. She remodeled, landscaped, designed, repaired, repurposed, and improved everything around her. Her home and yard were always evolving, guided by her strong vision and attention to detail. She saw potential everywhere and brought it to life with her hands.

Sandra worked professionally at the University of Colorado and later with the Internal Revenue Service in Ogden, where she was recognized for improving systems and processes. She and her sister, Lorene, also ran a wedding décor business. She devoted love and care to her many dogs and birds throughout her life. She also bred many adorable puppies that she sold or gave to her grandchildren.

She had impeccable style and a love of fashion, jewelry, and design, which brought her to work at the high fashion department of ZCMI, where she modeled and collected high fashion clothing. People often complimented her outfits and hair. She was also an accomplished artisan. She was very skilled at sewing, painting, ceramic decor, and making porcelain dolls. Her dolls earned blue ribbons at state and local fairs.

Above all, Sandra loved her family. She was devoted to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. She expressed her love through action. She hosted large gatherings throughout the years and brought the family together. She especially loved Christmas and filled her home with beautiful handmade ceramic and porcelain decorations. She sewed quilts and blankets for her grandchildren, each one a loving expression. Her grandchildren remember her as loving, attentive, and kind.

Sandy developed a strong testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She was spiritually intuitive and lived her faith quietly and consistently. She served faithfully in many callings in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and desired, above all, to bring her family closer to Christ. One of her most cherished accomplishments was to have all her children sealed to her in the Lord’s temple for time and all eternity.

Sandra is preceded in death by her parents, beloved husband, William E. Mueller, her siblings William Smith, Carolyn Stone, and Ruth Lorene Huffaker. She is survived by her children, Michael (Colleen), Keven, Kelly (Becky), Shane (Heather); her stepchildren, Don, Cheryl and Jim, as well as her 14 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and her sisters Lottie Morgan and Joyce Garcia, and her sister-in-law Erma Smith.

Sandra Lee Smith Mueller lived a life of faith in the Lord, constant effort, creative beauty, and care for family. Her legacy is found in the faith of her children, the lives she shaped, the spaces she transformed, and the family she gathered and cherished.

Funeral services will be held Saturday December 27, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah. Family and friends may visit Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the mortuary prior to the service.

Interment will be held at Lindquist’s Memorial Park at Layton.