Sandra Lee Blake (Conrad) was born at the Florence Crittenden Home for Unwed Mothers in Columbus, Ohio on October 14, 1943. She considered herself fortunate to be raised by her foster family, the Phillips’, on a farm in Pickerington, Ohio. It was there that she learned to cook delicious meals, can her own jellies, fruits and vegetables, sew her own clothes, care for and raise chickens and pigs, and create and maintain beautiful gardens.

During high school, Sandy left the farm and moved in with her second foster family, the Larrick’s. Many a wonderful time was had with the Larrick girls and Bea and Don at their home on Buckeye Lake and later on with Bea and the girls in California.

Sandy graduated from Pickerington High School in 1961 and remained friends with her classmates until the day she died. In fact, she was planning to make a trip to Ohio for their 65th reunion at the end of August prior to her passing. She asked her children to tell her classmates that she was sorry she would not get to see them one last time to say goodbye.

After graduating and getting married to George, Sandy perfected her sewing skills and became a talented seamstress, teaching sewing lessons at Stretch & Sew and making most of her children’s clothing as they were growing up, much to their chagrin! Over the years, she made amazing Halloween costumes for her children and grandchildren, wedding and bridesmaid dresses and costumes for many of her granddaughter Cait’s drama club productions. She also worked for many years in retail at JC Penney before returning to school in her 40s to get her Associates Degree in Radiologic Technology from The Ohio State University. One of the luckiest days of her life was the day she went to interview and was hired right out of school to work in the mammography department on the Mobile Mammography Van for Ohio State University. The crazy tales she told of she and her co-worker’s exploits, driving around Ohio and West Virginia in the Mobile, were legendary! She worked for Ohio State for 18 years before moving to Virginia to be closer to her daughter, Karen. She continued working in Mammography at Sentara Hospitals for another 11 years before retiring. It was a career she truly loved.

Once she moved to Virginia, she and Karen traveled the world and around our beautiful country, visiting many of our National Parks, for almost 20 years. China, Africa, Antarctica, Argentina, the Galapagos Islands, Thailand, Cambodia, Turkey and Ireland were some of the favorite countries they visited.

Birdwatching was also another passion of Sandy’s, learned from her sister, Gail Larrick. Karen and Sandy traveled to Honduras, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, Botswana, Zambia, Namibia, Belize and Panama to search for and identify many exotic birds.

Though she grew up on a farm in Ohio, Sandy had an adventurous spirit, conquering her fear of water so that she could snorkel the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and in the Galapagos Islands and sea kayak in New Zealand and Panama. When asked if she wanted to go Tandem Skydiving, she told Karen, “Sure, why not?” When she decided she wanted to raise chickens at her house in Hampton, VA, she went on the internet, found some plans and built her own chicken coop from scratch!!

Those who knew her know that Sandy loved her beer. Her son-in-law, Ken, was her favorite drinking buddy along with many of her Virginia friends at the County Grill. Sandy loved gardening. Neighbors of her Fox Hill Rd and Pine Cone Dr houses admired her beautiful gardens over the years. Sandy loved to bake. Her blueberry buckle, banana bread and peaches and cream pie were favorites of friends and family. Sandy loved her family. She was the best Mom anyone could ever hope for. She attended all of our extracurricular activities over the years, whether it was band competitions, track meets and cheerleading events or baseball games. Mom was always there to support us and cheer us on. As we got older, she sewed our wedding dresses, gave us sage advice, always told it like it was and never beat around the bush. She supported us completely as Annmarie had children of her own and as we went through difficult divorces and we remarried. Sandy was so much fun to be around. We would often laugh so hard with her we cried. She was goofy and had a wonderful sense of humor that will be greatly missed.

Sandy passed away, surrounded by family, on July 25, 2026, at the age of 82, just 20 short days after being diagnosed with aggressive ovarian cancer. Her last wish was to remain in her home and not to be hospitalized. Ken, Karen, Annmarie, David and her granddaughter, Rowan considered it a privilege (and their last way to repay all she had done for them) to be able to care for her, along with her amazing hospice and caregiver team from Trilogy Home Care, at home, until her last breath.

Sandy is survived by her three children, Karen Conrad Enriquez (Ken), Annmarie Conrad Croswell (Frank) and David Conrad. She is also survived by her many grandchildren, Caitlin Burley (Adam), Corin Croswell (Ash), Rowan Croswell (Will), Rourke Croswell, Corrick Croswell, Kimber Croswell (Chance), Kyle Croswell, Matthew Enriquez (Marilyn) and Mike Enriquez (Kira); great-grandchildren, Conrad, Warren and Arthur Burley and Benjamin Enriquez as well as sisters Heng Chih and Judith Larrick, many beloved nieces and nephews and all of our dear friends who adopted Mom as their own.

Sandy did not wish to have a formal funeral. We just ask that you have a drink in her honor, enjoy your life to the fullest and give a big hug to those you love. We had one heck of a time, Mom. You will be dearly missed …

Simply Cremation is assisting the family with arrangements.