HOMER J. SANDS
SMYRNA – Homer J. Sands, 88, most recently of Smyrna, passed away on Tuesday, February 4, 2014, at the Villages in Summerfield, FL, where he had wintered for numerous years.
Born on May 24, 1925, in Nineveh, Homer was the son of Orin A. and Mildred Hawkins Sands. He graduated from the Afton High School with the class of 1943. While at Afton High School, Homer played sports including football and basketball. After graduating, he joined the U. S. Navy to serve his country in World War II from November of 1943 until his honorable discharge in May of 1946. Homer returned home and enrolled in Cornell University to earn his B. A. degree. An avid drummer, Homer played drums in a dance band while in high school and also played for the Cornell marching band while attending college. He graduated from Cornell with the class of 1951 and then took a job with Farm Credit in Springfield, MA. In 1953, Homer transferred to the Norwich office where he worked until February 1, 1957. He then began his lengthy career with the National Bank and Trust Company, from which he retired on July 1, 1987 as a vice president. After retiring from NBT, he worked for ten years at I.L. Richer as credit manager. Homer was also an instructor at SUNY Morrisville and was Chairman of the Morrisville College Foundation from 1994-1998. He was a member of the United Church of Christ First Congregational Church for 60 years, and he severed on the Norwich School Board, the Delaware Otsego Railroad Board of Directors and with the Salvation Army. He also served as Town of Plymouth assessor for a time, and as a member of the Plymouth Volunteer Fire Department.
In December of 1947, Homer married Marjorie Wayman of Afton and they had two children, Linda and Larry. After he graduated from Cornell they moved to Springfield, MA where they lived until returning to Norwich in 1953. On October 14, 1972, Homer married Carol Barrows Sands and they had two children Jonathan and Nathaniel. They lived on West Hill in Norwich until 1987. In 1987 after retiring from NBT, Homer and his family moved to Plymouth Reservoir where they lived from 1987 to 2001. In 2001, they moved to Smyrna to be close to their son Jonathan and his farm. Homer enjoyed spending time on the farm and he spent as much time as he could helping with day to day operations. He loved driving tractors, feeding the animals, cleaning the barn and he spent time in the forest harvesting firewood. Homer also loved spending time with his family. He took yearly trips to Vermont and he spent time with his daughter Linda both at her residence in Spring Valley, NY and at the houses on West Hill and Plymouth Reservoir. He was the head chef of Thanksgiving dinners for over 40 years and many of the dinners included nearly 20 family members and close friends. He thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and he loved reading to them and watching them change, learn and grow. He will be missed dearly and his life will continue to be celebrated with countless great memories.
Homer is survived by his wife Carol; his children: Larry Sands, of Stowe, VT, Jonathan Sands and wife Tania of Smyrna, and Nathaniel Sands and wife Beth of Huntington, VT; his beloved grandchildren: Wyatt, Elliot, Ashlyn, and Taylor; and nieces and nephews. Homer was predeceased by his daughter, Linda Sands Norton in 2004, and by his sisters Betty Westfall, Mary Hohenfeldt and Dorothy Williams and their husbands.
Funeral services for Homer will be held at the convenience of his family, with interment at a later date in the Sands family plot in Afton. Arrangements are by the R. J. Fahy Funeral Home.