SANDRA (SANDY) HAWKEY SCATTERDAY, 1938-2022
Sandy was born on January 25, 1938, to Grace Pancoast Hawkey and Dr. Vincent Grant Hawkey in Meadville, PA. She graduated from the public schools of that city and entered Denison University (Granville, OH) in 1955. In addition to taking what curriculum Denison offered, in the summer of 1957 she enrolled in some specialized courses at the University of Colorado. There she chanced to meet Jim Scatterday, a recent Denison graduate who had entered Colorado’s PhD program. Sandy and Jim almost instantly fell in love! Therefore Jim transferred to The Ohio State University so that he could be near Sandy until she could finish her bachelor’s degree at Denison. Sandy received her B.A. in 1959, and she and Jim were married in that year on March 18th. While Jim finished his dissertation, Sandy taught second grade, first in Harrisburg OH and then in Hilliard OH, and pursued graduate studies in Education at Ohio State. In 1963 both were employed as faculty at the State University of New York College of Arts and Science at Geneseo; she in the Education Department, he in the Geological Sciences Department. In 1982 Sandy added to her academic achievements by earning the degree Master of Science in Library Science from S.U.N.Y. Geneseo.
Sandy’s greatest avocation was choral singing. She performed both locally and in other countries with the Rochester Oratorio Society (for just short of twenty years) and later, when she was absent from the Rochester area during that group’s season, participated in the Finger Lakes Choral Festival.
Sandy and Jim craved a closeness with nature and had their first house built in an isolated area south of Geneseo. That acreage and the surrounding countryside became their own year-round nature preserve for almost a third of a century. However, to avoid New York’s severe winters, in 1999 they had a second home built on the “Sanctuary Island” of Sanibel, FL. In 2002, they gave up their first home (after 1999, their all-but-winter home) and had a new home built in a natural area on Honeoye Creek just north of Honeoye Falls, NY.
She is survived by her husband, Dr. James (Jim) Ware Scatterday, her sister-in-law, Jane Scatterday Papin, a niece, Dr, Jennifer Papin Maxwell, nieces (daughters of the late Suzanne Hawkey Youngs) Jill Youngs and Cynthia Youngs Bukosky, and many other nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, and even great great nieces and nephews–all fondly known but too numerous to include by name.
Margaret and I mourn the death of our dear friend Sandy Scatterday. She was a wonderful person in every way. We will miss her.
Sandy was always so true, so loyal to the people she loved and who loved her. I will miss her beyond measure, after 57 years of our friendship Ed and I hope that her beloved husband Jim finds some comfort in memories of her and the life they made together.
Shirley and I fondly recall gatherings of friends, which Sandy and Jim hosted at their comfortable hillside home south of Geneseo during the Christmas season. They always had a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. And Sandy especially enjoyed seasonal music by Mannheim Steamroller. We will treasure these memories — and the get-togethers of the gourmet group at the various members homes in and near Linwood, York, and Geneseo.
Jim I am so sorry for your loss. I have fond memories of running around your beautiful house and gardens when my mom would bring me over during summer breaks. I did get to see Sandy perform at least once thanks to my mom taking me. I know my parents are missing their dear friend Sandy as well. Love from all of us.
Jim, we are so glad that you called today letting us know where to find Sandy’s obituary- your life together was a true love story. We are blessed to have shared some Sanibel adventures & good times with you both. I derive comfort from the thought that “your grief means that you have loved.”