Sandie Hawthorne

Sandie Hawthorne, 82, of The Villages, FL, passed away peacefully on March 26th, 2025. She was the beloved wife of Jon Hawthorne and mom to Doug and Brad. Sandie was born in Wood River, IL on July 22, 1942. She graduated from East Alton/Wood River high school and went north to Bloomington to become a theatre major at Illinois Wesleyan. There, she met and fell in love with Jon (a 3-sport athlete) and that led to a 60 year marriage. Sandie started her professional career in Elmhurst, selling Real estate for Red Carpet, while Jon was coaching basketball and baseball at Elmhurst college. The family then moved to Normal, IL where Sandie sold real estate for Armstrong, as well as Kaiser Realty, where she was a regular million-dollar seller. For many years, one of Sandie’s roles was a coach’s wife and cheerleader for the boys and their many sports endeavors. And nobody did it better than mom. Sandie and Jon moved to the villages in 2004 and she soon dove head-long into The Villages Musical Theatre Company, as well as The Villages Theatre Company. Her list of outstanding productions is quite prolific and impressive: Octet Bridge Club-2007 Bus Stop-2008 Annie Get Your Gun-2009 The Prisoner of Second Avenue-2009 A Trip To Bountiful-2010 Oklahoma-2011 A Nice Family Gathering-2011 Always Patsy Cline-2012 Carousel-2013 Music Man-2015 The Curious Savage-2016 Thoroughly Modern Milly-2017 Ghost Of A Chance-2017 South Pacific -2019 Villages Musical Theatre Member of the Year-2018 The Villages Theatre Company - awarded her a lifetime membership -2022 Old Hams-2024 For those who were fortunate to be guided on stage under her hand, you remember how much you learned in basic stagecraft, techniques in development of character and fine points in dialogue and movement. More than that, however, you remember kindness, professionalism, humor and a whole lot of energy. Sandie was a board member of The Villages Musical Theatre and its’ Chair for many years. She guided the group through many difficult decisions and policy changes. She was an absolute model of an efficient administrator who understood the needs of its members and worked very hard to insure great stage opportunities for its members. Heaven has gained a beautiful Angel...an Angel that sings, dances, acts, directs, inspires, loves...the list goes on and on. Her memory will always live on in our hearts. To see Sandie star in a play written for her about her life , look for “Come Fly With Me” on YouTube. A viewing will take place on Saturday, April 5th, 2025 at Beyer’s Funeral Home in Lady Lake at 3:00, with a service at 4:00PM. Flowers can be sent to Beyers Funeral Home. Donations can be made to one of Sandie’s two favorite charities - Tunnel To Towers and St Jude Children’s Hospital.

Sandie Hawthorne

July 22, 1942 - March 26, 2025