Sandra “Sandi” Lynn Query Heneghan

December 06, 1948 – June 12, 2024

Sandra “Sandi” Lynn Query Heneghan of Portland, Oregon

On the early morning of Wednesday, June 12, 2024, Sandi passed away peacefully in her sleep at the home she shared with her beloved daughter, Meg Heneghan, after a mercifully short battle with diabetic ketoacidosis. She had recently moved in with Meg and was being lovingly cared for and comforted by her. Sandi was 75 years old.

Sandi was born on December 6, 1948, in Tacoma, Washington to Mable J. Forester Query and Verner L. “Pat” Query. Sandi was the older sister to Margo. Their parents met and married in Vancouver, BC, and the family visited the area often. A piece of Sandi’s heart was always in British Columbia.

Sandi was curious, friendly, intelligent, helpful, funny and, her daughters learned by finding her elementary report cards, “busy” child. She was an athlete and played softball since grade school, later adding track, basketball, volleyball, and -if you can believe it- cheerleading to her schedule. Sandi’s athleticism was remarkable for the 1960s and her small 5’2” stature. She was hardworking and feisty in all she did and brought this into the coaching she loved as an adult.

Sandi attended Western Washington University and later transferred and graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Art in History in 1973.  She started her career in insurance soon after. A company training program brought her to New York City where she met Rick Heneghan, whom she married in Tacoma, Washington on March 15, 1975. Sandi and Rick drove cross country in their Volkswagen Beetle to live in upstate New York before settling in New Jersey. Sandi supported Rick while he worked and obtained his bachelor’s degree, during which time she also became a homeowner and mother to Jessi in 1980 and Meg in 1981.

Sandi continued working and prioritized caring for her daughters. She often coached their softball and basketball teams and supported their love of horses and riding. Sandi somehow also found time to play on an adult recreational softball team and coached girls’ volleyball and softball teams long before her daughters played. Even as her girls and their sport commitments grew, Sandi never missed one of their games.

In 2005, Sandi made the beautiful and brave decision to choose herself. After her divorce she moved to Albuquerque and then Phoenix, before moving to Portland, Oregon. Sandi was thrilled to return to her beloved Pacific Northwest and to be physically closer to her daughter, Meg, who had claimed Portland home in 2013. She became more unapologetically herself in her last 19 years of life. Sandi remained exceptionally close to Meg, moving herself and her adorable dog, Gizmo, in with her just three weeks before her unexpected death.

Sandi was always kind to strangers and the underdog. She was generous to a fault while being “frugal, not cheap”. She was passionate about the environment, endangered animals, the less fortunate, and especially rescue dogs. Over the years, she adopted 7 shelter dogs who had a wide variety of pitifulness. Sandi could forgive anything they did and loved them with her whole self. She was vehement about manners and etiquette- thank you notes were required to keep gifts- and she never failed to send birthday and holiday cards. Sandi never met a cashier she didn’t befriend and religiously donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind, ASPCA, World Wildlife Fund, and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for the last 30 years.

Sandi was fiercely independent, stubborn, witty, and proud of her Scottish heritage. She was a lifelong smoker, black coffee drinker, and baker. Sandi was committed to and generous with her yearly Christmas coconut tarts, shortbread, macarons, and fruitcake. Her Christmas morning traditions are deeply ingrained in and loved by Meg and Jessi and live on with Jessi and her daughters, Lyla and Aida. Sandi was a salty outrageous older woman who left the world way too soon and better for having been in it. Meg had beautiful plans for their Golden Girls starter home and this plan brought joy and excitement to them both. Meg will continue to care for Gizmo.

Sandi is survived by her daughters, Meg and Jessi, granddaughters Lyla and Aida, devoted rescue dog Gizmo, and a wide community of family and friends from every stop along her full life. Rather than a formal funeral service, there will be small gatherings of celebration of Sandi’s life in Portland, Tigard, and Vancouver, BC.