Sandra Elaine Roghaar

Sandra Elaine Beesley Roghaar (79) went on her final adventure on January 27, 2026. She was an adored mother of four, grandmother of eight, and great-grandmother of two.

Sandy was the oldest of six and grew up in a more rural Salt Lake City where her mother's sun-warmed tomatoes were eaten off the vine and their Shetland pony "Sugar Baby" carted them around the neighborhood. Her childhood home was built by her talented mason father and on their front sidewalk an inscription read: "We Beesley's welcome all. Fat, short, thin, and tall".

She graduated as a varsity cheerleader at Granite High School in 1964 where she fell in love with a boy that became the love of her life. Steve and Sandy were married in 1966 and started their family with three boys: Shawn, Shane, and Shad. They moved to Logan to pursue Steve's degree from USU while Sandy worked various jobs including Wurlitzer, Pepperidge Farms, and the local neighborhood nursery. They bought their family home in Smithfield where Sandy made many lifelong friends as they raised their kids together. It was in that backyard you may have spied Sandy chasing Shane with a wooden spoon or her spraying down her boys with a garden hose on a chilly November day after their mud football game.

To say she was an avid gardener is an understatement. She was literally a Master Gardener (a USU certification requiring coursework, continuing education, and community service) since the 1980s. She could grow or graft nearly anything - a true plantswoman. Many Saturdays she spent the day at Logan's farmer's market answering any and all gardening questions.

Sandy was a true force. Starting in the 1970s this mother of three boys from a small, conservative town marched on the Utah Capitol steps fighting for equal rights. As a lifelong women's rights advocate, her voice never wavered over her lifetime. Never described as subtle or soft-spoken - Sandy would always let you know her opinions and where you stood with her - a quality that made those around her accountable. Her grandkids knew well they were expected to love and treat others equally.

Sandy returned to USU as a college student in her thirties. As she drove her kids around in her VW Beetle (the one she convinced them had ejector seats), she recited to them the proper Latin terms of the plants she was studying. To the end, they all shared this language. She graduated in 1985 - the same year her eldest son Shawn graduated from high school. She began student teaching when (surprise!) morning sickness set in. Baby girl (Shannon) Katie joined the family in 1987 and all were smitten. Five years later Sandy met her first grandchild, Tayler Megan. Tragically Tayler passed away just shy of her second birthday and six months later Sandy lost her husband Steve - two losses that altered her forever. That familiar heartbreak would alter her once more in 2024 when she lost her youngest son Shad to cancer.

Sandy and Katie relocated to Pahrump, NV where Sandy adopted the pygmy goat "Sweetie" who would headbutt anyone except her, and she found a little solace in the local 'poof' dirt. She continued to teach - often to homebound kids - and cheer for Katie on the soccer fields. Seven more grandkids arrived and Sandy spoiled them all the same. She was the kind of grandma that served dessert first, jumped in the kiddie pool with her clothes on, and made snow angels in the desert sand.

If there was an award given for the best laugh ever, she would have won it. If her kids ever got separated from her in a store they could locate her by her laugh. There will be a lot of people missing that laugh and the world will be a little less joyful without it. Rest in peace you fartfanuggin. We hope everything is copasetic where you are.

Please join us for a Celebration of Life to honor Sandy's legacy on the weekend of her 80th birthday:

Saturday, March 14th

12:00 - 2:00 p.m.

The Barn at Wheeler Historic Farm

6351 South 900 East, Murray

As Sandy would say, "in lieu of flowers, send more flowers" (she would love a room full of them). Or consider a donation to a women's rights organization (we suggest Planned Parenthood Association of Utah: https://share.google/fINdbcD0Uoe2q9eyX).

"My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent." (Ruth Bader Ginsberg)

"There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me." (Jane Austen)