• Courtesy Photo
• Sandra Wooster

On April 7, 2021, Sandra Lee (Bailey) Wooster passed away due to complications from COVID-19. She is now reunited with her parents, Edward and Ada (Stoodley) Bailey, and her sweetheart and husband, Harold Wooster.

Born in Claremont, N.H., she lived in both New Hampshire and Vermont. She met her cowboy sweetheart, Harold, and they had two beautiful daughters, Tammy and Carol (“Sunshine”).

Born with disabilities, she needed extra assistance, yet she was studious. Her impish smile lit up the entire room whenever she saw someone she knew.

Sandy, as she liked to be called, loved to volunteer and raise money for various charities. She enjoyed church, reading the Bible and the Daily Bread, vanilla milkshakes, and anything sweet (Little Debbie snack cakes were her favorite dessert). Orchid was her favorite color. She liked robins, dancing, singing silly songs and hymns, the “bumpie cars,” Ferris wheels, hugs, bedtime stories, teddy bears, the choo-choo train, alumni parades, adult day, coloring, word searches, camp, Bernie Sanders, romance novels, TV and saying “I love you.”

In December 2020, she got infected with COVID-19. She survived the initial infection only to suffer the long-haul effects of COVID-19 that led to her death. It is not a hoax. For my family and many others, our lives shall never be the same.

When Irish eyes were smiling, her once jet-black wavy hair made us laugh. The now-silver locks never would stay down. Singing together the Barney song, “I love you, you love me,” made her smile right up to the end.

To Mom: My fondest memories of Mom were when we all sang in front of the church: “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine.” My husband, Wayne, and I send hugs and kisses. We will miss Mom writing us, coloring us pictures and her phone calls most of all. We love you, Ma, forever and a day. Love, Tammy and Wayne.

Right before she became an angel, the song “Rockin’ Robin” came on the radio. Soon after, I heard birds outside her window. Fly high, Mommy, over the rainbow. We love you. God bless.

She is survived by her daughters Tammy Thompson and her husband, Wayne, of Winooski, Vt., and Carol Ann Wooster and her partner, Bob Clark; and by her brothers Edward Bailey and his wife, Sue, of Connecticut, and Billy Bailey and his wife, Betty, of Claremont, N.H. She also had a half sister, Constance Bailey; granddaughers Katana Lynn O’Keef and Debbie O’Keef of South Carolina; great-grandchildren Anna, Lexi, Drew, Aden, Landen and Laken; and several nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff at Essex Adult Day, Cathedral Square Assisted Living, Bayada Home Health, and special caregivers Pam and Mert Huntley, along with Ellie Beltrami, Diana and Hakka Khadka, and Sharon Williams and their families.

Donations in her memory may be sent to First Congregational Church of Burlington. They will be used to purchase books for the church library.

A swing set and/or a bench, at a yet-to-be-determined space, will be placed here and in New Hampshire in her memory. They will be places where others will be encouraged to sit and read a book.

If you wish to contribute to this, please send donations in care of Carol Wooster, 238 North St., Burlington, VT 05401.

There will be visiting hours at Elmwood-Meunier Funeral Home, 97 Elmwood Avenue in Burlington on April 17 from 2 to 4 p.m. Masks and social distancing will be required. Services will take place on May 8 at a yet-to-be-determined time. You can look for updates on the Elmwood Meunier Funeral Home website, elmwoodmeunier.net.

As part of who Mom was, she will be going to heaven in her pajamas with a teddy bear and a Bible in her hands. If you wish to wear pajamas to either service, please do so, as it is encouraged. Any teddy bears that are received will be later donated to the children in various organizations throughout the community.