Sandra Carolyn Burns

Sandra C. Burns ( Soulliere) 68, of Fairfield Glades, TN, formerly of Shelby,MI, died unexpectedly Monday, March 7,2011. Born in Highland Park, MI on February 18, 1943, Sandy was the second oldest of 10 children born to the late Roger and Wanda Soulliere. The large family included Peggy (Bill) Grant, Mike (Lynn) Soulliere, Patrick Soulliere, Pamela (Terri) Pietryga, Terry (Vince) Leone, Carol Soulliere, Roger (Pam) Soulliere, Scott (Barbara) Soulliere and John Soulliere (deceased). In 1956, the family moved to an old farm house on Canal in Sterling Heights From 1956 to 1961, Sandy was enrolled in St. Lawrence Catholic schools and was a member of the 1961 graduating class. Always the athlete, Sandy was an active member of the Varsity Basketball and Softball teams and would have probably volunteered for the football team if they needed her. When not in school, she worked long hours manning the mowers on the family sod farm and helping her parents care for her 8 younger siblings. After graduation, she attended 1 semester at MSU before returning home and enrolling in and graduating from beauty school. In 1964 she married Raymond Escott and during the next 5 years they welcomed Dawn (Douglas) Wilkins, Paula (Robert) Renke and Raymond Escott into their small Detroit home. As often happens in life, circumstances change and in 1972 she divorced. Always a strong independent person, she found herself a well paying but physically challenging job at the Vandyke Ford trim plant. For the next 30 years she was employed in Sterling Heights and later at the Chesterfield Trim plant as a trim operator and supervisor. She was a long time member of both the local Ford bowling league and golf league. With a seemingly endless supply of energy and the ability to take "power naps" (even on a table in the middle of a sewing plant) she worked long hours, raised three small children, provided guidance and support to her younger siblings and still had time to maintain a large circle of friends; many of whom were members of the Warren chapter of Parents Without Partners. In 1977 she met and married the love of her life, Dave Burns and resided along with her 3 children in Warren, MI. Unfortunately, Dave passed away in 1980; but always resilient she persevered and continued to support her children and family in every way possible. Still working fulltime at the plant, she was her daughter's softball coach, a Girl Scout leader and talented seamstress that produced everything from crazy Halloween costumes to fancy prom dresses. She passed on her love of sports to her children and allowed them to experience and fully supported their activities be it bowling, track, baseball, softball, skiing, racquetball, or golf as well as being at every conference, assembly and play. Her goal was to give her children a wide view of life, spark their interests, and help them find their direction. Through it all, she also made time for friends and herself. As her children grew older, she became an active member of the Somerset Singles club where she participated and helped arrange numerous parties, golf and ski outings. She was a driving force of the WMGA, a local Michigan women's traveling golf league and spent much of her free time traveling around the state golfing. This was especially amazing since golf didn't really become a passion until she was in her thirties. She loved golf and in 1983 along with her father Roger and Brother Pat founded the Macomb Golf course on 23 Mile, which was later sold and became TJ's. For at least 10 years she had dreamed of moving to a place where she could golf year round, so in 2005 she announced that she was moving to Fair Field Glades TN to pursue her retirement dreams. In true Sandy fashion, she packed the car and made the 10 hr drive alone, found a job at a golf course and rented an apartment near her job. A short time later she purchased her own home which she immediately began to remodel a process that was made even more difficult because of a house fire. She made the fire a positive and worked to turn that house into her dream home that she could opened up as a vacation place for family and friends. The remodel project was but one of her activities. She kept herself active with her job at the golf course and later the tennis center, but she considered her most important job was that of friend. She went out of her way to make people feel welcome and active and used her love of golf and bowling to accomplish this goal. She was a member of several golf leagues including The Lady Bugs and even helped start the Fairfield singles club. In addition, she participated in the Senior Olympics where she earned several Gold medals in golf and just last year she reached her pinnacle of success by getting her first Hole in One. When the weather became too cold for golf she would take a cruise or travel to Florida which is where she had just returned from a week before her death. Where ever she was, it was always with a group although she did maintain a small group of close friends. But above all family always came first. When her granddaughter Lindsey was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2006, she was there in person providing physical and emotional support; something that continued for 4 years even when it meant leaving the warm weather of TN to come help her daughter's family while her daughter and granddaughter traveled the world seeking a cure. When her grandchildren were caught in the middle of a divorce, she made it her job to give them support and a safe fun place to stay. She was never happier than when she was visiting with either in person or on Skype with one or all of her 9 grandchildren: Danielle, Kenneth, Kelsey and Lindsey Wilkins continued... 1 2 Next ...continued (deceased), Angelina and Chris Escott, Allison, Austin, and Audrey Renke. Sandy faced many setbacks in her life but she always considered them just "speedbumps" and faced them head-on with a positive attitude and the world's biggest smile. Unknown to many, she faced her largest hurdle in 1998 when after 6 months of feeling worn down she was told that she had contracted a heart virus resulting in cardiomyopathy and that 1/3 of her heart muscle had been destroyed. At the time her doctor's prognosis was that she would need to leave a sedentary life and they wanted her to be considered for a heart-transplant. Always the optimist, Sandy's first reply was "So when will I be able to golf again?" She felt that she would rather live 10 great years than 20 just existing years but if she could have 20+ great years that would be even better. A doctor change and a year of drug therapy later, Sandy amazed her doctors with her progress and even managed to return to work for 6 months so she could reach full retirement. Never the one to complain, Sandy casually faced the many cardio and pulmonary issues she faced with "I'm not going to let my health get in the way of my life" attitude. This attitude may or may not have led to the events that resulted to the asthmatic episode at her house on March 6, 2011 which led to Sandy slipping into a coma and sustaining severe brain damage. But it was because of this attitude that her family made the hardest but best decision to let her go, which thankfully resulted in Sandy being able to move quickly, quietly and surrounded by her daughters to a place where she can "live" the next phase of her life the way she lived the first - her way, surrounded by loved ones, with the world's biggest smile on her face. All who knew or were touched by her life are invited to attend a celebration of her life. Visitation Fri. 3-9pm at Wujek-Calcaterra & Sons, Inc. (Shelby Twp.) 54880 VanDyke @ 25 Mile Rd. Vigil Service 7:00pm. Instate Sat. 11:30am at St. Lawrence Church 44633 Utica Rd. (W. of VanDyke) until Mass, 12:00pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are preferred, and will be used to establish Lindsey's Legacy, a childrens cancer foundation that honors the memory of Sandra's late granddaughter. Share memories with the family at their "On-Line Guest Book" @ WujekCalcaterra.com Previous 1 2

Sandra Carolyn Burns

February 18, 1943 - March 7, 2011