Sandra Charlotte Norman Champion

1949 - 2022

CHAMPION

SANDRA CHARLOTTE NORMAN CHAMPION 1949 - 2022

Sandra Charlotte (Norman) Champion departed a world that she made a better place on July 26, 2022. Her peaceful death was due to complications from the dementia with which she struggled for six-years. Though Sandy will be missed by family and friends she leaves a legacy of beauty and a commitment to service for those in need. Sandy was born in Denver, CO on December 18, 1949, to Dr. John Allen Norman and Patricia Louise (Brauchle) Norman. Her family moved to Akron, OH where she spent her childhood. She graduated from Firestone High School where she competed with the synchronized swim team and volunteered as a candy-striper in the burn ward of the hospital where her father was a resident pediatrician. Sandy began college at Ohio Wesleyan and continued her studies at England's Oxford University. At Oxford, Sandy befriended a group of Rhodes Scholars that included future US President Bill Clinton. Enticed by the excellent snow-skiing, Sandy moved to New Mexico where she completed her undergraduate and law degrees at the University of New Mexico. Following law school, Sandy clerked for US District Court Judge and former New Mexico Governor Edwin L. Mechem. She served as an Assistant District Attorney in Bernalillo County and subsequently practiced law with a focus on the rights of Native American tribes including the Laguna Pueblo. Sandy met and married her husband Thomas Champion, and gave birth to their beloved son Andrew. The family moved from New Mexico to the Maryland suburbs of Washington DC where they have lived since 1992. Fiercely loving and always ready to serve her family, Sandy cared for her mother Pat in the family home in Maryland until Pat's death from ALS in 2002. Sandy was raised in the Presbyterian Church and continued her commitment to mission at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in North Bethesda. She served as a deacon and a member of the congregation's pastoral nominating committee. Additionally, Sandy was active with Bread for the World on hunger issues and organized the Saint Mark mission project to provide home-cooked meals to the Interfaith Coalition's Women's Shelter. Sandy brought passion, imagination, and skill to everything she did. These qualities came through strongly in her home design and decoration. In New Mexico, Sandy accented her adobe home with tile from Spain and designed and constructed a fairytale Japanese garden. In her homes in Gaithersburg's Kentlands community, she designed and decorated her homes like jewel boxes inspired by colonial Williamsburg. In addition to her husband of 39-years, Tom, and their son Andrew, Sandy's survivors include her sister Saradell Norman Friedrich and brother Peter Norman. There are also numerous aunts, cousins, friends and neighbors who will miss her fierce, bright, and loving spirit. We will be celebrating Sandy's life on September 26, 2022 at 11 a.m. at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, MD 20852. Donations in Sandy's memory may be made to Interfaith Works, 114 W. Montgomery Ave., Rockville, MD 20850.