Dates
Sandra Genera Gillespie Campbell of San Angelo, Tex., died on March 16 at the age of 82. Graveside services will be held on Saturday, March 22, at 2 p.m. at Johnson’s Lawnhaven Gardens in San Angelo.
She was born on April 8, 1942, in Mobile, Ala. to Thomas Matthew Gillespie and Lois (Moncrief) Gillespie. She was raised in Corpus Christi, Tex., and graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1960. On Christmas Day 1960, she married Lanier Campbell, and they shared 61 devoted years together until his death in January 2022.
Lanier’s job as a petroleum engineer took them from South Texas to West Texas, eventually settling in San Angelo in 1985. Over those years, their family grew with the addition of three daughters and a son.
Sandra’s primary occupation was creating and maintaining a home for her family, but she always found time to be involved in activities outside the home: Sunday School teacher, Cub Scout leader, Beta Sigma Phi, Ladies Golf Association, and Desk and Derrick, amongst others.
When her children got older, Sandra began working as a bookkeeper and office manager, working out of her home in the beginning, then serving as office manager for a large San Angelo establishment until she retired in the early 2000s.
Sandra was a crafter through her life, expressing her creative spirit through many styles and techniques, from fabric painting to yarn work, decoupage to oil painting. Especially beloved by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren are the baby blankets she crocheted for each of them. She also enjoyed cooking and baking, creating signature dishes that have passed down to children and grandchildren.
Sandra was preceded in death by her parents and her husband.
Those left to cherish her memory are her three daughters, Sherilyn Brown and husband, John, of Wise County, Tex.; Lorna Ayers and husband, John, of Albany, Tex.; and Bonnie Johnson and husband, Derek, of Newalla, Okla.; one son, Michael Campbell and partner, Clint Whitehead, of Lewisville, Tex.; two sisters, Gloria Gent of Deland, Fla., and Deborah Cassidy, also of Deland; two brothers, Steven Gillespie and wife, Sohui, of Waverly Hall, Ga., and Tom Gillespie of Deland; eight grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and many beloved nieces and nephews.