Sandra Rutherford

On July 24, 2020, Sandra Lou Rutherford of Navarre Beach Florida, loving wife of Edward Rutherford and mother of Joseph and Lisa Rutherford, passed away at age 82.  In 1999, Sandra achieved victory over cancer and lived cancer-free for 21 years.  She fought the good fight with cancer until she succumbed to cancer in Gulf Breeze, Florida and was called home to the Lord.

Sandra was born on December 30, 1937 in Fairview, Illinois to Frank and Lois Finley. She graduated from New Bloomfield High School in New Bloomfield, Missouri in 1955.  Afterward, she became a licensed cosmetologist.  On March 11, 1956, she married Edward Rutherford and became a full time mother and homemaker. They raised two children, Joseph Rutherford of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Lisa Rutherford of Houston, Texas.  The Rutherford family also hosted a French American Field Service (AFS) student, Patricia LeMaitre of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Sandra had a passion for homemaking. She loved to knit sweaters and afghans, and she sewed handmade quilts in her spare time.  She also loved reading detective novels, playing cards, and doing puzzles.  She was an animal lover who had several rescue cats and dogs throughout her life.  She was always compassionate for the elderly, disabled and the unfortunate and was a volunteer for the Apalachicola Meals on Wheels.  She was known for her quick wit, her infectious smile, and her kind and compassionate spirit.

Sandra was preceded in death by her father Frank Finley, her mother Lois Finley, her brother Gene Finley, her sister Elizabeth Reed, and her stepsister Bonnie Jo Thurston. She is survived by her husband Edward Rutherford, her two children Joseph Rutherford and Lisa Rutherford, her granddaughter Audrey Rutherford, her great-grandson Kurtis Rutherford, three nieces Susan Reed-Williams, Anne Reed and Shanna Johanning, three nephews Sam Reed, David Finley and Brian Finley, and two second cousins John Finley and Jay Finley. She is also survived by numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews on Edward’s side of the family.

Visitation will be from 10:00am until the funeral service begins at 11:00am, Monday, July 27, 2020 at Rose Lawn Funeral Home, 2942 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf Breeze FL 32563. Sandra requests that surviving family members plant a tree in her honor.  Donations may be sent to the American Cancer Society at donate3.cancer.org.