Sandra Gilson

Sandy was born in Shreveport, LA, on July 7, 1954, to the late Dorothy Adeski Goldman and Edward Adeski. She was a talented registered nurse for most of her life until suffering an injury at work. She never let this slow her down though as she would not allow her inquisitive mind to be encumbered by the frailties of her body. She possessed an insatiable curiosity and was a keen lover of animals, gardening, science, nature, and this amazing Universe with all its wonders. Sandy enjoyed crafts of all types from woodworking, knitting, and needlepoint to jewelry making, painting, and ceramics. She also loved cooking, reading, and learning constantly learning. If she found it challenging and unique, she’d throw herself into it unreservedly. In this way, she extracted more from this life than many.

She was a devoted wife, a doting and caring mother, a proud grandmother, a loving sister, a ‘crazy’ aunt, and a thoughtful daughterinlaw. She is survived by her husband, Patrick Gilson of Sheffield; her children, Dr. David Arlen Barrios of Boston, MA, and Marlena Lynn Barrios of Medford, WI; her grandchildren, Deeva Barrios of Worth, IL, and Alexander Blevins of Springfield, MO; her sisters and brother, Karen “Cookie” Sommerfeld of Forsyth, MO, Elizabeth Loziuk of Snow Camp, NC, and Terry Goldman of Aurora, IL; nieces and nephews including Jennie Jones of Snow Camp, NC, and Dr. Philip Loziuk of Raleigh, NC, and her motherinlaw, Bonita Felton, of Sheffield.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, Michael Ephriam King.

She was cremated and memorialized in a private ceremony attended by her family and loved ones on Wednesday, April 23, 2019. Her ashes will be spread across this world in places she loved or had hoped to visit, intertwining her essence and atoms with the natural world she loved so passionately. To honor Sandy’s memory and her ceaseless love of animals, the family asks that you generously support The Cat House on the Kings, Big Cat Rescue, and her sister Elizabeth’s animal rescue effort in North Carolina Marley’s Meadow Farm and Sanctuary (www.facebook.com /Marleysmeadow).