Sandy Lovering Challender (born Sandy Sue Lovering), entered the Kingdom of God this night of December 15, 2011. Funeral service will be held Monday, December 19, at 11 am from the Chapel of Winkenhofer Pine Ridge Funeral Home in Kennesaw with Pastors Ric Cadle and Bob Noffsinger officiating. Burial will follow at Pine Ridge Memorial Park. Sandy was born at the Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, Georgia on September 14, 1953. She is the daughter of Ms. Carol Lovering and a native of the Smyrna, Marietta, and Acworth, Georgia areas. In 1971, Sandy graduated with honors from Wills High School and in the fall of that year attended North Georgia College (NGC) located in Dahlonega, Georgia. During her teenage years she was active in dance and modeling and in 1972 was runner up to Ms. North Georgia College (NGC). On her first day at NGC she met Thomas “Chili” Challender and on December 9, 1972 they were the first couple to be married in the NGC Student Center Chapel. In September, 1973, Sandy and “Chili” began a military career spanning 21 years with duty stations in Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Texas, Germany, and Iraq. During their first assignment to Germany, Sandy worked as a highly regarded employee with the American Express Company. While stationed at Fort Hood, Texas from 1981 through 1984, Sandy was honored for her exemplary volunteering by being identified in the 1984 edition of “Young American Women.” From 1994 through 2002 Sandy served in a number of positions within the Nelson Memorial United Methodist Church in Boonville, Missouri. She also worked both in the administrative office and as the receptionist for Kemper Military School until it closed in 2002. Throughout that time period, she came to be known as “The Voice of Kemper” by students and their parents, Kemper staff, and Boonville residents due to her friendly, caring, and inviting personality. After moving to Troy, Missouri, Sandy was honored by being selected as the Director of Hospitality and Inviting Ministries for the St. Stephen United Methodist Church. Throughout Sandy’s entire life she dedicated herself to her strong religious faith and service to children and young adults. She served numerous positions in many churches by being a Sunday school teacher, greeter/usher, coordinator and teacher of vacation bible school, coordinator for “shut-ins” ministries, women adult bible studies teacher, and a member of the United Methodist Women organization and several church counsels. Sandy was a truly loving, caring, and devoted wife and mother. Living by strong Christian principles, she exemplified God in all her words and actions. After meeting her for the first time, people would often speak later about how uplifted they felt following their conversations; her positive attitude about life was contagious to all. God blessed her with a nurturing spirit, and she utilized that gift to the fullest extent possible. She truly touched the lives of countless people over the years, not the least of which were those closest to her. Her memory will be forever treasured, and she will live on as an example of Christ for others to follow. She is survived by her husband “Chili”, her two sons Shannon and John Nicholas, grandson, Patrick Dyer Challender, her mother Carol Lovering, as well as three aunts - Deloris Gohering, Margery Hood, and Brenda Womack. The family will receive friends on Sunday from 6pm-9pm at the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the American Cancer Society – Pancreatic Research, 1825 Barrett Lakes Blvd, Kennesaw, GA 30144 or www.cancer.org. Condolences may be extended to the family at the following web addresses, winkekenhoferpineridgefuneralhome.com or [email protected].
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