Sandra Louise Goodrich Dawson

Dawson, Sandra Louise Goodrich

On July, 11, 2016 at 10:45 AM Sandra Louise Goodrich Dawson of Oquaga Lake NY and West Palm Beach Florida passed away from colon cancer at her son's home with her son, his wife and grandchildren near her as she wished. Sandy Lou or Aunt Sandy as everyone knew her was born April 21st 1939 to Hubert R. Goodrich and Louise (Bailey) Goodrich. She graduated from Johnson City High School with the Class of 1957 and was very proud to be a Wildcat. She then attended The State University of New York at Oswego majoring in English Education graduating in 1961. She did her student teaching in Lowville, New York, then returned to the Triple Cities to teach at Oakdale School, Lincoln Middle School and West Junior High School. During the summer of 1962 she met the love of her life at Hanson's Hotel on Oquaga Lake, Norman A. Dawson. They were married June 21st 1963 at Sarah Jane Johnson Memorial Church in Johnson City at 8:00pm. She was late for her wedding and often joked the bells of the church were held 20 extra minutes causing several people to be late for work the next day. Their reception was held at Hanson's Hotel. After a honeymoon on Oquaga Lake the couple began their lives with Norman working for her father at the Goodrich Milk Company as Vice President and she continued to teach. During this time they enjoyed sports car rallies and she raced her 1962 Sunbeam Alpine on ice. She gave birth to her first child Mimi Dawson McCumber in 1965. When Norman accepted a position as a college Professor at The State University of New York at Delhi. She adopted Delhi as her new hometown and was involved in many local organizations including Delhi Village Improvement Society and Open Door. In 1967 their second child was born Ladd Goodrich Dawson. She gave up teaching to raise her family but didn't stop working for long. She became a daycare provider for many area children starting with Justin Marano who she always thought of as her 3rd child. It was around this time that the horse bug bit the Dawson family and after purchasing the old Ward Stables on Delaware Avenue and renaming it "The Chocolate Barn" she kept the books for the "farm" although she was deathly afraid to ride she was very proud to watch her family show from the box seats in the Syracuse Coliseum. She saw a need for a tack shop in the local area and for the price of a curry comb people could come and spend three hours getting advice for whatever their therapy needs were at the time. In 1993 she was asked to be a founding member of the Watershed Agricultural Society working in a partnership with farmers to improve water quality for the upstate watershed area and New York City. After Norman's retirement in 1996 they sold the farm and retired to West Palm Beach to be near their daughter during the winter and spent the summers on Oquaga Lake to be near their son. Norman predeceased her in 2014 after 51 years of marriage. Sandra was known to put a period at the end of her sentences but you always knew where she stood on an issue and never wavered from that stand. She was a firm believer in children trying new things and most were better off because they did, none of them died from eating Brussels sprouts. Sandra is survived by her daughter Mimi McCumber, her son Ladd Dawson and his wife Jestina and her five grandchildren Madison, Kenneth, Alexandra, Kassandra and Emma. Sandra's greatest regret was not getting screened sooner for Colon cancer and wishes that everyone get screened to detect the cancer sooner when it's easier to treat. There will be no calling hours or funeral there will be a private memorial service for the family and her ashes will join her husbands at a later date. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to New York State Sheriffs' Institute Summer Camp for Kids at their website http://www.sheriffsinstitute.org