Sandy Crossland

    Sandra Crossland (known to many as Sandy) was born Dec. 18, 1946, in Benkelman, Nebraska. She died June 15, 2017, at the age of 71 at Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland.
    Sandra was the oldest daughter of Gerald and Donna Stamm. She had fond memories of growing up on the family farm north of Benkelman and attending school at a one-room, country schoolhouse until the middle of fourth grade when the family moved to Sheridan in 1957. The family finally settled in Englewood in 1959.
    Sandra graduated from Littleton High School in 1965 in a class of over 400 students. After graduating, she worked a year as a nurse’s aide at Swedish Medical Center. It was during this time that she met Robert “Bob” Crossland. Sandra and Robert were married Sept. 9, 1967, and then moved to Long Beach, California, where Robert was stationed on the USS Fechtler, a Navy destroyer.
    Sandra continued her nurses training in 1968 at the Los Angeles School of Nursing and graduated in January of 1970. Shortly after, Bob completed his service in the Navy, and they moved back to Denver. They purchased their first home in Montbello, a suburb of Denver, later that summer and lived there for five years.
    Sandra worked as a registered nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, and Robert worked for the Aurora Fire Department. They had two daughters, Tara Lee, born April 2, 1972, and Amanda Jean, born June 22, 1974.
    In 1972, they purchased farm ground north of Wray and shared time between Denver and Wray, cleaning up the ground and building a house. They moved to the farm permanently in 1975. That same year, Sandra obtained a position as an R.N. at the Wray Community District Hospital. This began for her a very active and rewarding career in rural nursing.
    During her career, she held a variety of positions, including nursing in-service coordinator, cardiac testing and rehabilitation coordinator and emergency medical technician instructor/coordinator for the Wray Ambulance Service, and in 1986, she became the director of nurses.
    In 1990, Sandra resigned and enrolled in the R.N. to BSN program at the University of Northern Colorado while working at North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1993 and returned to a position at the Wray Community District Hospital as discharge planner and utilization review coordinator.
    In addition, Sandra assumed the position of swing bed program coordinator and pharmacy consultant assistant and was one of the founders of Hospice of the Plains.
    Sandra was passionate about providing quality care for patients and was gifted in teaching and training others. She enjoyed the camaraderie and mutual respect shared with her colleagues in the medical profession. Her efforts touched many in Wray and the surrounding communities. In 2011, Sandra retired to pursue her other passions of gardening, crafting, traveling and spending time with family, especially her grandchildren, Jake and Anna.
    Sandra was preceded in death by her parents, Gerald and Donna Stamm. Left to mourn her passing are her husband, Robert; daughter, Tara Garton and husband Casey and their children Jake and Anna; daughter, Amanda Crossland; sister, Linda and husband Bruce Housley; sister, Barbara Ann Stamm; and many other cherished family members and friends.
    Services were held at Wray United Methodist Church Monday, June 26, with Pastor Ben Wentworth and Pastor Chuck Wright officiating. Interment was held in the Grandview Cemetery in Wray.
    Memorials may be made to Wray Community District Hospital — Nursing Department for Sandy Crossland Memorial Fund. Schmidt-Jones Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.