Sandra Kay Verrill, 71, Lawrence, KS, passed away Friday, October 4, 2013 at her home.
She was born December 9, 1941, in Lewiston, Maine to Randall Burtis and Verna Campbell Verrill.
Ms. Verrill has lived in Lawrence, KS for the last 3 years, moving from Westbrook, Maine.
She was a homemaker, and was very funny, intelligent, generous to a fault, out going, and easy to talk to.
Ms. Verrill loved baking, drawing and painting, reading, interior design, history, architecture, flowers, and her pets , Sheba and Tigger who preceded her in death, as well as Bobo and Pumpkin who survive her.
She is survived by a son, Scott Burtis Rowe of Lawrence; and a daughter, Kara Ann Rowe of Gray, Maine.
Ms. Verrill was preceded in death by her parents; a son, Kevin Murray Rowe; and a sister, Katherine Steves.
My heart hurts so bad for the loss of my friend, my second Mom, and the woman who thought of me as her confidant. Someone who she could tell things to, that she didn’t want to share with anyone else.
She will always be in my heart, my thoughts, and my prayers. I know that someday I will see her again, and that is the only thing that makes it easier, although it is still so very hard. To say I miss her would be an huge understatement.
I could always count on Sandy to uplift my spirits, make me smile, or just feel good. She had a way about her to make your mood change for the better and was great to just be near.
Our plans always included helping her to have the things in life that she never had, but so deserved. Her life was hard and she always put everyone else first, before her own needs. She deserved so much.
I will always miss you Sandy, until we meet again. I love you.
Morris
Mom, I miss you so much in every moment of every single day. You were the light in my life and my reason for my being. Frankly I do not know how to go on without you.
Too many words were still left to say and too many plans we had together are now gone away.
I LOVE you more than I feel I was ever really able to express to you because I could search forever and never find a word strong enough to express my love for you.
I want everyone to know that my mom made many sacrifices for her children and she always put us first and foremost. She often went without so that her kids had enough.
She taught me what it means to care about an other person and what it means to truly love an other.
She taught me to respect myself and others, she taught me to be kind and gentle, to treat others as I would want to be treated and most of all she taught me to never give up or to settle. She often said that time will come and go rather you decide to do something or not ~ so always chase your dreams.
She had a great sense of humor, she loved flowers, nature, straw hats, perfumes, painting, art, baking, chocolate, gourmet cooking/food, gardening, helping others, sunsets, walks on the beach, the ocean, fashion, butterflies, birds, teddy bears, cartoons, horror movies, love stories, and just life in general. She also loved to decorate for the holidays with Christmas being her favorite.
Mom was very intelligent and had a lot of wisdom which she shared with me all my life. She knew a lot about American and British History. She wanted to be an architect when she was a young woman but never once regretted being a mom and homemaker.
I truly lived for my mom and strove to bring her life nothing but happiness. I just wish she could have stayed with us much longer for so many obvious reasons.
My mom had always wanted to go for a hot air balloon ride, to visit Ireland and to learn to ride a bike. Just a few things I so wish I had been able to do for her.
Mom also loved her pets very much. There was Sheba a medium French Poodle we got when I was about 10 years old. Then there was Tigger a little kitten I gave to her but he went to heaven a few months ago. She and my brother then rescued two kittens from a shelter and she named one Pumpkin which is what she called me when I was a little girl and the other she named Bo Bo which was the name of a stuffed animal she made me when I was about 2 years old.
I cannot say enough about my mom. She was my strength in times of trouble. She always had a way of helping me to see that I alone had control over my life. The gifts she gave me I could never repay but not for a lack of trying.
Her favorite Bible passages are: I give you a new commandment ~ to love one another and she also loved Ecclesiastes 3 ~ There is a time for everything … she told me it helped her to make sense of the world around her, gave her comfort and hope.
If my mom had been financially rich she still would have been broke. I say this because she would have given every dime away to help others. She was generous to a fault.
She loved all three of her children more than life. My brother Kevin passed away on Oct. 6th 1981 which was his 18th birthday. She never recovered from that loss and now I fully understand her grief. Of course I understood before and felt my brothers loss as well but now after losing my mom in an untimely manner I more fully appreciate her suffering.
Mom loved to brag about my brother Scott. She entered a picture of him as a young toddler into a contest and he won first place. She never stopped telling people that story. She also loved to brag about his accomplishments. Most of all regarding his traveling, education and teaching job. She would tell anyone that would listen all about Scott.
Then there’s me. Her little girl who she thought she was going to put in dresses and give dolls to play with. Instead I grew into a tomboy who loved stuffed animals and thought dolls were illogical.
She also liked to brag about me and about how I wanted to be a doctor or psychologist. She loved how I reminded her of herself as a young woman and always told me how she was proud of the woman I grew up to be.
I feel like I should apologize for writing so much but honestly I could write pages more about what a wonderful and selfless woman my mom, Sandra Kay Verrill was while she was here on this earth.
I will miss her all my days. I will forever long for the years I was robbed of spending with her. I will forever regret the phone calls I should have made, the talks we should have shared and the memories we could have continued to make.
Mom, I love you and I am counting down the years until we are in each others arms once again. I miss you oh so much more than words can say and I have missed you for so long even before you went back home. God bless you mommy and rest in sweet heavenly peace.
To Scott and family, we want you to know we are praying for you and send our sincere condolences. As an extended member of the Barrett Family, you delighted us each week with such wonderful stories of you and your mother. We enjoyed hearing about her weeks events and it was clear to us the devotion you had to your mom. We are here if you need anything…
So sorry to hear the news about Aunt Sandra. Please know our thoughts, prayers and hugs are sent your way!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time of sadness .