Sandra Deerman

VALLEY HEAD Sandra T. Deerman, 74, died Tuesday, May 29, 2012.She was born Aug. 14, 1937 in Fyffe, Ala. Sandra was preceded in death by her parents, Olin F. Taylor and Mary M. Taylor; two sisters, Carol Taylor and Scarlett Taylor; her brother, Billie Taylor; and her grandson, D. Keith Jones.Sandra was a loving and sweet woman who touched the lives of those around her. If you met her, your life was better because of her and if you really knew her you'd often hear, "You need to stop and smell the roses, sweetie," or "It doesn't cost anything to be nice." She lived that way every day - enjoying lifes simple pleasures like gardening and puzzle books. Watching golf also played a big role in her happiness. But Sandra's true passion was the University of Alabama. When the Crimson Tide crushed LSU for the national championship in football a few months ago, Sandra was there in front of the television cheering Roll Tide. In 2009, Sandra was on her way back from visiting her daughter in North Carolina at the time of the Sugar Bowl matchup between Utah and Alabama. The TV in the RV went dead so her daughter and son-in-law scrambled to find cable wire at the local store and hook up another television at the RV park so Sandra could watch her boys from Alabama.Sandra grew up in Alabama, and as a high school student, she was a cheerleader and graduated with honors from Sylvania High School in Alabama. In 1952, she married and moved to Fort Oglethorpe to start her family. She started out in the workforce as a secretary before returning to her home to be a full-time mother. Although she died in Lafayette, Ind., Sandra considered Valley Head, Ala., her home. She was a member of Valley Head Baptist Church.Survivors are daughters, Connie Deerman-Eckard and husband, Neal, of West Lafayette, Ind., and Jerolyn Deerman Newton and husband, Patrick of Cary, N.C.; sister, Rosemary Norton and husband Rick, of San Antonio, Texas; brother, Cole Taylor and wife, Barbara, of Valley Head, Ala.; former husband, Ray Deerman, of Fort Oglethorpe; and several nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends.Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 3, 2012, at Wilson Funeral Home, 3801 Gault Ave. N, Fort Payne, AL 35967.Visitation will be from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.Burial will be in New Bethel Baptist Church cemetery in Rainsville, Ala.The family would like to extend a special thanks to St. Anthonys Health Care Center in Lafayette, Ind., and St. Elizabeths Hospice in Lafayette, Ind.Donations in Sandras memory may be made to St. Elizabeth's Hospice, 1415 Salem St., Lafayette, IN 47904.