Sanya Alden Ford

It is with deep regret that I, William J. Ford, announce that Sanya Alden Ford passed into the spiritual world at 13:41 on May 23, 2022, due to complications from idiopathic axonal polyneuropathy. She passed in our home in Carlsbad, California, while sleeping and without discomfort.

Sanya Alden Ford was born to Marie Celeste Foster Shappell from St. Louis, Missouri, and Sanborn Arthur Shappell of Piney, Arkansas, in Phoenix, Arizona on May 13, 1937. Sandy left a family of two nieces, Sherri Shappell and Stephanie Schimmel. Sherri has two sons John and Christopher Ziegler. Chris’s daughter Riley Celeste was one of Sandy’s special treasures. Stephanie has three children. Jennifer Berry, Brian and Joey.

Sandy became a loving lifetime “YOM” to my daughter, Angela Roya Ford Wilhelmi. They met when Angela was sixteen. She was one of Sandy’s bridesmaids at our wedding at the Ballroom of the Westgate Hotel, San Diego, on March 17, 1984. The ceremony was followed by dinner. Sandy told me that my only job was “to show up.”

Sandy never had children of her own but had a strong motherly instinct. She was Grandma Sandy to Angela’s children Dallas Briana Koch-Darneille, Dawson Chase Wilhelmi, and Catalina Skye Wilhelmi. Sandy got the pleasure of meeting and holding our first great grandson, Troy Arran Darneille born October 27, 2021.

Sandy attended catholic grade school at Transfiguration and then high school at St. Mary’s Academy in Los Angeles. In 1959, she graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene. She practiced as a hygienist for several years with her then husband Dr. Harbans Bhatia.

Sanya Alden Ford

May 13, 1937 - May 23, 2022

I barely knew Sandy during the three years of our legal education together. She was in a different section, with different professors. I heard of Sandy only by reputation. Her notes of each class were highly sought after by other students. Her outlines were indisputably the highest quality available from anyone anywhere. Sandy would always share with others.

One particular memory I have of Sandy at Loyola was her driving into the parking lot, in her little yellow Porsche, with her long black ponytail swinging back and forth as she skillfully negotiated the speed bumps.

After Loyola, we went our separate ways, hers as a prosecutor for the Securities and Exchange Commission, mine as a Navy JAG Officer. It was during these ten years that

Sandy was married to John L. Ryan, another Juris Doctor of Class of 72. It was not until 1983, at the Eleventh Reunion of Class of 72 that our paths once again passed. She was in San Diego then as Senior Counsel for the California Department of Corporations, and I was Chief of Claims at the Naval Legal Services Office. The Reunion was on February 25, 1983. We had our first date on March 4th and stayed together the rest of her life.

Sandy was the most gracious, loving, and giving person I have ever met. She never lost a friend, even from the 1st Grade at Transfiguration. She remained in contact with every friend she made. Her second husband John Ryan remained our friend and was a family member at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Sandy was the very essence of an elegant lady. Her passing on Victoria Day must have had a cosmic origin. She was such a buff on English Royalty. I found a copy of a letter that Sandy sent to the Earl of Spencer, Princess Diana’s brother, voicing her opinion that his “beautifully crafted” eulogy at his sister’s funeral was a “wake up call for the Royal Family” and then added a few reasons why she thought so. Sandy consistently gained the highest peer reviews by security attorneys throughout the United States. She was respected by every lawyer in town for her friendliness and tough efficiency.

During our thirty-eight years of marriage, she created twenty-five fabulous vacations, filled with the happiest moments of our lives. Her meticulously executed plans always included dining at the best restaurants in the country visited or on a few Pacific and Caribbean Islands. Sandy was my Queen and I celebrate her with all my heart.

A memorial service will be given for Sandy at the Miramar National Cemetery, 5795 Noble Dr., San Diego, CA, on September 16, 2022 at 11am. In lieu of flowers a donation ”For Sanya”, to the Magdalena Ecke YMCA, 200 Saxony Road, Encinitas CA 92024, would be much appreciated.