Sandra Rue

Sandra Kay Rue was one-of-a-kind. Vivacious and smiling, she saw the positive in everything. She looked at life in imaginative ways and expressed herself in captivating stories and inspired poetry. Her love for God was evident in the way she cherished her family and served others.

Sandy was born in a period of optimism, when the United States was recovering from WWII. Growth in industry and jobs gave workers the opportunity to build homes and start families that launched the baby boom era. In the rail town of Durand, Michigan, Lloyd and Helen (Durham) Parks were beginning their family with the birth of Sandra Kay on November 12, 1946. Sandy’s childhood memories were filled with the thrill of flattening pennies on the railroad track and the chore of picking up dropped coal from the train. Like many children of her generation, Sandy contributed to the family’s needs by gathering extra bits of coal to fuel the home furnace. She did her share around the house as the oldest of nine brothers and sisters, and her large family and small town environment provided inspiration for stories she loved to tell.

When Sandy was still a young teen, she moved to Battle Creek to live with her grandma. She attended W.K. Kellogg Junior High School, and at age 13, became acquainted with a young man who would become her husband. Sandy met Charles Rue at an auto show, and they began a three-year dating relationship. Sandy was 16 when she and Charles decided to get married, and they made their vows on September 1, 1963. The young couple lived in the Battle Creek area before making their home on a farm in Delton for 15 years. Like a small town, farm life provided a secure setting in which to raise their three children. Cheri’, Jeff and Cheryl grew up around happiness because Sandy was witty and, at times, downright hilarious.

Love of family extended to Sandy’s church and community. For 18 years, she worked as a cashier for Meijer and warmly served each customer in her lane. She was especially delighted when people from her church came through, and she could spend an extra moment to chat with them. Most recently, the folk of Living Waters 2 Church were her spiritual family, who nurtured her as well as received her gifts. Sandy was very creative and wrote hundreds of Christian poems that she felt led to write. In her poems, the words of God flowed through Sandy’s words.

Sandy was a unique woman who carved her own path by faith and faithfulness. It was a journey she shared with her beloved husband. Chuck and Sandy were one in heart and mind. No matter what, they stood by each other, especially during times of Sandy’s illness. They were always at each other’s side. Family members linked that quality with penguins that mate for life and the penguin collection that Sandy kept. The penguins continue to be a reminder of Sandy’s uniqueness and devotion.

Chuck and his family remain devoted to one another even as they mourn Sandy’s death. Their memories of a bubbly, loving wife, mother, and grandmother will make them smile and give them peace.

Sandra Kay Rue, age 60, went to be with her Lord on Wednesday, September 5, 2007 at Borgess Medical Center, after a battle with leukemia. Sandy’s family includes her husband, Chuck; children: Cheri’ and Jerry Whaley of Richland, Jeff and Tenia Rue of Richland, and Cheryl Mitchell of Grand Junction; grandchildren: Danielle, Josh, Jeffary, Zach, Rikel, and Johnny; great-grandchildren: Jamie, Brody, and Isaac; her parents: Lloyd and Jean Parks and Helen Robbins; and siblings: Rick Gooding, Theresa Medici, Bill and Diane Gooding, Bethany and Jerry Swanson, Lynn and Bill Barr, Lee Parks, Faith and Steve Hensal, Scott and Linda Parks, and John and Linda Parks; and many nieces and nephews. Learn more about Sandy, view her Life Story Film, and visit with her family on Sunday from 1-4 PM at the Life Story Funeral Home, RDMG, Plainwell, 120 S. Woodhams, where her service will be held on Monday at 1 PM. Please visit Sandy’s memory page at www.lifestorynet.com, where you can archive a favorite memory or photo, sign her online guest book, or make a memorial donation to the family, c/o Chuck Rue.