Obituary of Sandra Diane Chavez

Sandra Diane Chavez, age 66, of Pioneer, Ca. passed away on 04/19/2024. Sandra, a.k.a. Sammie, was born on 07/12/1957 to Vernon & Minnie Brooks in Wichita, Ks. After Sammie graduated from Andrew P. Hill high school in 1976, she went on to have a career as a machinist, assembler of jet fighter planes, and accountant to name a few. 

Sammie met Mike Cavanaugh in the spring of 2008 while working at Swiss Park in Newark. Four years later, they were joined together in marriage on 11/21/2012.  They loved and enjoyed their four dogs together: Boswell, Rocky, Jasper, & Maximus. They also enjoyed camping and boating together. They had been together for 16 years.

Sammie’s passion was cooking. She loved to feed people! She was also an amazing & accomplished seamstress who passed her skill down to her granddaughter. Sammie would often sew her grandchildren costumes of their choice. She also had a love for gardening, canning, & painting “For which she did not need painters’ tape”.  She also tried her hand in & enjoyed dirt biking, motorcycles, and horses. There wasn’t much Sammie couldn’t do or accomplish. She could pop the hood of a vehicle and get right to work mechanically; or roll up her sleeves to crawl under a sink and start pulling pipes apart to fix plumbing, reset windows, then cook a six-course meal that same evening! There wasn’t much that intimidated her. She was truly a superwoman with many talents. In her own words she could “Jimmy rig” anything!  There is no doubt that she is the person that you would want in the trenches with you.

Upon retirement, Sammie had a freedom that she had earned and thoroughly enjoyed. She used her time to travel & to spend time with her children and grandchildren. Sammie’s love for her family and friends was passionate. She was always there for you when you needed her, without hesitation or questions. She was a generous and supportive friend. She was a loving and caring wife, mom, daughter, and sister. She will be truly missed with a pain that is indescribable. Fortunately, we have created many memories that we will cherish, and she will forever remain in our hearts.

Sammie was predeceased by her son, Matthew Chavez, her father and mother, Vernon & Minnie Brooks, and her brothers, Ricky & Keith Johnson. She is survived by her husband Mike Cavanaugh, her daughters Alesia Santiago & Audrey Chavez, her grandchildren Daniel Chavez, Efrain Santiago, Isabel Santiago, Ian Jack, Anaya Jack, and her siblings Gail Magson, Gary Sheets, William Brooks, Linda Johnson, and Brenda Garcia.

Let’s celebrate her life together and set her free.  As we celebrate her life, we would love to hear about memories you have shared with our sweet Sammie.  Memorial service will be held at - Daneri Mortuary 415 Broadway, Jackson, Ca 95642 on Thursday, 05/09/2024 at 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.