Jean Margaret Sandman
Posted: Sunday, June 15, 2008
Jean Margaret Sandman, 82, of Sioux City, beloved wife and mother, passed peacefully from this life on Wednesday, June 11, 2008, leaving the memory of her graceful and positive spirit.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, with the Rev. Merlin Schrad officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. today, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Online condolences may be sent to www.meyerbroschapels.com.
She was born in St. Cloud, Minn., the fifth of six children of Henry and Philomena (Wictor) Ahmann. She lived most of her childhood and her entire adult life in Sioux City. She attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School and graduated from Central High School in 1943. Jean graduated from Briar Cliff College in 1948 with a degree in sociology and psychology and trained under Mary Treglia. She received her master's degree from the University of South Dakota in counseling and guidance in 1970.
Jean started her career as a social worker for Catholic Charities. She later worked as a counselor and financial aid director at St. Vincent's School of Nursing from 1965 to 1972. She was a director of social services at St. Vincent Hospital from 1972 to 1975. She worked with the Siouxland Health Planning Council assessing area health resources and needs.
In 1975, she became the director of the Sioux City Travelers Aid. She continually expanded the scope and quality of the services offered by the agency, which led to the new name of the Assistance, Information and Direction (A.I.D.) Center. The A.I.D. Center became the incubator and home to a multitude of social services, including the community food bank, 24-hour hotline, emergency housing, services to the elderly, women and children shelter, consumer credit counseling service and senior volunteer services. She retired from the A.I.D. Center in July 1994.
Jean was an active volunteer in retirement. She was on the Western Iowa Tech Board of Directors from 1990 to 1998. From 1989 to 2005, she served as the secretary for Missouri River Historical Development and felt honored to be involved with the multiple grant giving and the development and building of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Jean dabbled in art, enjoyed playing the organ and loosely followed her family's activities, which included becoming a great fast-pitch softball fan.
Jean was married to Leonard Sandman on Jan. 31, 1951, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Sioux City, and they were married for 57 years. They had seven children. She is survived by her husband, Leonard; sons, Jim, John (Julie) and Pete (Janelle) of Sioux City; a daughter, Mary (Manny) of Austin, Texas; and a son, Mark of Leavenworth, Kan.; 14 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jay Ahmann of Oceanside, Calif., and Thomas Abraham of Plymouth, Minn.; and a sister, Mary Drag of Castro Valley, Calif.
She was preceded in death by twin infant daughters; and two brothers, J. Stanley Ahmann of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Don Ahmann of Largo, Fla.
Jean's family gives a special thanks to Indian Hills Nursing Home, Hope Harbor in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Hospice for the special care that they provided.
Services will be 10 a.m. Monday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, with the Rev. Merlin Schrad officiating. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. today, with the family present 6 to 8 p.m. and a vigil service at 7 p.m., at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel. Online condolences may be sent to www.meyerbroschapels.com.
She was born in St. Cloud, Minn., the fifth of six children of Henry and Philomena (Wictor) Ahmann. She lived most of her childhood and her entire adult life in Sioux City. She attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School and graduated from Central High School in 1943. Jean graduated from Briar Cliff College in 1948 with a degree in sociology and psychology and trained under Mary Treglia. She received her master's degree from the University of South Dakota in counseling and guidance in 1970.
Jean started her career as a social worker for Catholic Charities. She later worked as a counselor and financial aid director at St. Vincent's School of Nursing from 1965 to 1972. She was a director of social services at St. Vincent Hospital from 1972 to 1975. She worked with the Siouxland Health Planning Council assessing area health resources and needs.
In 1975, she became the director of the Sioux City Travelers Aid. She continually expanded the scope and quality of the services offered by the agency, which led to the new name of the Assistance, Information and Direction (A.I.D.) Center. The A.I.D. Center became the incubator and home to a multitude of social services, including the community food bank, 24-hour hotline, emergency housing, services to the elderly, women and children shelter, consumer credit counseling service and senior volunteer services. She retired from the A.I.D. Center in July 1994.
Jean was an active volunteer in retirement. She was on the Western Iowa Tech Board of Directors from 1990 to 1998. From 1989 to 2005, she served as the secretary for Missouri River Historical Development and felt honored to be involved with the multiple grant giving and the development and building of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. Jean dabbled in art, enjoyed playing the organ and loosely followed her family's activities, which included becoming a great fast-pitch softball fan.
Jean was married to Leonard Sandman on Jan. 31, 1951, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Sioux City, and they were married for 57 years. They had seven children. She is survived by her husband, Leonard; sons, Jim, John (Julie) and Pete (Janelle) of Sioux City; a daughter, Mary (Manny) of Austin, Texas; and a son, Mark of Leavenworth, Kan.; 14 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jay Ahmann of Oceanside, Calif., and Thomas Abraham of Plymouth, Minn.; and a sister, Mary Drag of Castro Valley, Calif.
She was preceded in death by twin infant daughters; and two brothers, J. Stanley Ahmann of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Don Ahmann of Largo, Fla.
Jean's family gives a special thanks to Indian Hills Nursing Home, Hope Harbor in Storm Lake, Iowa, and Hospice for the special care that they provided.
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