Sandra Lynn Haag was born and raised in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. She was born December 3, 1941 in Boundary County Community Hospital, where she also passed away peacefully in the company of loved ones March 11, 2024. A Celebration of Life Ice Cream Social will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday, March 15, at the Fairgrounds Memorial Hall 6567 Recreation Park Road, Bonners Ferry.
After graduating from Bonners Ferry High School, Sandy moved to Rupert, Idaho, where she met her first husband, Larry Kowalski. After her daughter Tami was born, they traveled around with his job, building power towers. When she was six months pregnant with daughter number two, Teri, Larry was killed in a work accident.
She then returned home to Bonners Ferry. When Teri was 6 months old, they moved to Sacramento, California, where she married Tom Haag. Although they divorced 11 years later, Tom and Sandy remained life-long friends.
The biggest blessings of their marriage were her next two daughters, Paula and Monica.
Choices and circumstances led her to being a single mother of four daughters, responsible for providing for them. About 1978 she became a real estate agent for two years, stable income and better working hours then led her to selling insurance. She had a 20-year career with the California State Automobile Association (AAA), during which she was the first woman to earn their top sales award. She went on to receive that award multiple times throughout her career. During that time, she worked in several different locations including Sacramento, Petaluma, and Reno, Nevada.
She retired in 1998, after some health concerns, returning to Bonners Ferry shortly after.
In 2003, she moved to Grand Haven, Michigan, where her daughter Tami lived. She lived there for about six years. She then moved to San Luis Obispo, California, to help a dear friend to take care of her sick elderly parents. In 2010, she moved back to Bonners Ferry.
Her eldest daughter, Tami, is married to Mike Pohl and they have two sons, James and Jacob. They live in Michigan. Teri is married to Clint Roney and is a special education teacher at Valley View (GO BADGERS!). They have two children, Dylan and Brooke. Paula has two daughters, Erika and Ashtin. They live in California. Monica also lives in Bonners Ferry. She has a daughter named Sierra. Sandy has seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren who were the loves of her life. She was very close to all of them.
Because her children live around the country, she was able to continue indulging her joy of traveling. A couple specific highlights were a para-sailing in Acapulco, taking her daughters and their families to Disney World, a trip to the Bahamas, and of course the marriages of her daughters and the births of her grandchildren. She even went zip lining in Virgina. Other activities she enjoyed over the years include camping, white water rafting, hiking, racquetball, crafts, bowling, cruises and more.
In 2014, she took a 3,000-mile road trip through Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California by herself. She visited family and friends along the way. The highlight of her trip was going to a bar in Folsom, California. Her then son-in-law was playing in the band, her daughter, several of her grandchildren and her were drinking yummy blue drinks, and she taught them all a thing or two on the dance floor.
Over the last several years, Sandra got to spend precious time with all her daughters, grandchildren, and great grandchildren before moving into the Restorium in 2022. There she met some new friends and had a few more adventures, not the least of which was car rides with Nona Kaye revisiting their youth and of course stopping for ice cream.
Sandra was preceded in death by her parents, Leroy and Mildred; her first love, Larry Kowalski; siblings Kay, Marilyn, Bill, and Maxine. She left behind siblings, Sally, Jim, Jill, Nancy, and Jeri; daughters Tami (Mike), Teri (Clint), Paula (Dave), and Monica; grandchildren James (Victoria), Erika, Dylan, Ashtin (Curtis), Brooke (David), Jacob (Carly), and Sierra (Michael); great grandchildren Malikaii, Adelynn, Miles, and Adelaide and many cherished nieces, nephews, and friends.
Sympathy cards may be sent C/O Teri Roney, 48 Breezee Acres Road, Bonners Ferry, Idaho 83805; sympathy gifts should go to the Friends of the Restorium, P.O. Box 1362, Bonners Ferry, ID 83805.