Sandra Jean Terry

Sandra Terry, 84, of Riverton, Utah, passed away peacefully on May 15, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. Known to all as “Sandi,” she was a woman defined by loyalty, dependability, and a quiet strength that held her family together through every season of life.

Adopted by Fred and Pearl Brown, Sandi grew up in Ely, Nevada, and graduated from White Pine High School before attending nursing school at Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City. She married William “Steve” Terry on August 18, 1962, at St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church in Ely, Nevada, and together they made their home across Salt Lake City, Mesquite, Nevada, and Riverton, Utah. Later in life she returned to school and earned her Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Utah in 1992 — a reflection of the determination she brought to everything she did.

Sandi was the family’s caregiver in every sense — steadfast, caring, and always there when it mattered. She asked for little in return, only to be appreciated and to share in a good conversation with family or friends. She had a warm interest in the lives of those around her and a personality that left a lasting impression on everyone she met. The friends and caregivers at her care facility remembered her fondly for her spicy spirit and her laugh.

One of Sandi’s greatest gifts was her talent for research. She was an exceptional genealogist who could trace people and records that others simply could not find — from microfilm in county courthouses to walking cemeteries in search of headstones. Much of this work was deeply personal, driven by her lifelong search for her birth family. Many family vacations were shaped by that mission, and it became a thread woven through the story of her life. She continued working as a researcher for a Landman doing property research until she was nearly 80 years old.

Sandi loved her family, playing cards — especially Cribbage, Pan, and Spite and Malice around the holiday table — crafting, puzzles, hummingbirds, and cooking for the people she loved. Her recipes and her traditional dishes were holiday traditions her family looked forward to every year. She attended the 1960 Winter Olympics at Lake Tahoe, dreamed of one day seeing Europe, and collected souvenirs brought back to her as her way of seeing the world.

She is survived by her husband, William “Steve” Terry; her children, Deborah Johnson (Michael) and Brian Terry (Kalia); her grandchildren, Austin Johnson, Kristin Terry, and Keva Metz; and her sisters, Joe and Mona. She was preceded in death by her sister Kay.

Sandi will be remembered in the card games at the holiday table, in the recipes pulled out every Christmas, and in the quiet gratitude of a family that knew, she was always there for them, and the sly wink when she was being the cheeky one...

— Sandi will be missed… —