Mary Elizabeth Sands Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Mary Elizabeth (Cronin) Sands 1938 - 2023 Mary Elizabeth (Cronin) Sands, known to friends and family as “Marybeth,” and to her nieces and nephews as “Aunt Bee,” passed away Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the age of 84. Born October 29, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Marybeth graduated there in 1956 from Ursula Academy before completing nurses training in Hamilton, Ohio. Marybeth’s love of travel and spirit of adventure then took her to Seattle, Washington, to begin a career in nursing at Providence Hospital, Seattle, while spending her off hours touring Seattle’s 1962 World’s Fair. While residing in Seattle, Marybeth met James W. Sands, and they married on October 12, 1963. A son, Thomas Jacobs Sands, was born in 1971, and the family thereafter settled in Minnesota. Marybeth became the first lay person to join the staff of St. Mary’s Parish in Winona, working as the Director of Religious Education. Accomplishments during her 13 years of service in the church included organizing a Sunday School and a Parish Youth Group for a trip to Denver, Colorado, to welcome Pope John Paul II for World Youth Day. Jim and Marybeth Sands retired to Florida in 2000, where Marybeth resumed her church work at St. Timothy’s in Lady Lake, serving there as Coordinator for the Children’s Religious Education Program. Preceded in death by her husband and son, Marybeth is survived by three brothers: John Cronin of Xenia, Ohio; Jim Cronin of York, Maine; and Rick Cronin of Mount Dora, Florida, and by ten nieces and nephews. Following an 8:30 AM Mass at St. Timothy’s in the Villages on August 22, 2023, Marybeth Cronin Sands will be interred beside her husband at National Cemetery in Bushell, Florida. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you reward Hospice for caring for our Marybeth by donating in the name of Mary Elizabeth Sands to Compassionate Care Hospice, 1645 East. Highway 50, Suite 302, Clermont, Florida 34711.

Mary Elizabeth Sands

October 29, 1938 - July 20, 2023