SONIA M. KAMMEYER

  
SONIA MARGARETHA KAMMEYER  
On Sunday, February 23, 2014, Sonia Kammeyer died at Gilchrist Hospice Care in Columbia, Maryland. Sonia fought a long and valiant battle against breast cancer, which she first contracted in 2002. Everyone who knew Sonia has described her in much the same way: she was a beautiful, talented and strong woman. Her beauty started shining through when she was a teenager and it continued into her 71st year. Her talents were many, but foremost among them was her ability to make and keep friends. Her friends ranged from grade school and high school classmates she had in Sweden to someone she might have met in Florida only a few weeks ago. Sonia's talents were especially demonstrated in the arts. She was a committed painter whose works were widely admired and for which she won awards, when she chose to enter competitions. Sculpture may have been her strongest artistic talent. In the last two years she has traveled to Scottsdale, AZ where she participated in the sculpture workshops of the noted sculptor Vala Ola. Sonia loved music of all types, and she was working diligently on mastering classical guitar music in recent years. She had a beautiful guitar made especially for her in Paraguay by Renato Bellucci. Sonia's strength was demonstrated by her ability to carry on with her work, her social life, and artistic activities even when cancer was invading her body. She often told her doctors, "I will not let this stop me from living my life." And, she didn't. In January Sonia and her husband spent more that two weeks in California where she was able to spend time with her son Sean, her daughter Siobhan, son-in-law Palo, and beautiful granddaughter Vendela. Immediately after returning home she went to Florida to welcome her long-time Swedish girlfriends, where for two weeks she hosted them in her precious Mt Dora, Florida house.  Sonia loved her small, but close family. Her immediate survivors include her son Sean and his daughters Marisa and Zoe, her daughter Siobhan, her husband Palo and granddaughter Vendela. Sonia had a deep and abiding love for her husband Kenneth, as he did for her. He will miss her as long as he lives.  Memorial service May 10, 2014 in Clarksville, MD at The Gathering Place.