Following a brief illness, Sandra K. Wisniewski, 84, of Ottawa passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at the home of her step-daughter. She left this earth peacefully and headed for better places just minutes after listening to a long session of country and western music, which she loved.
A Memorial Service will be held at 12 p.m. on Saturday May 2, 2026 at the Mueller Funeral Home in Ottawa, with Rev. Bill Clark officiating. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of the service. Private burial will take place at St. Columba Cemetery on a later date.
“Sandy” was born on October 20, 1941 in Piper City, IL to George and Bernice Mildred (Fisher) Herr. She was a graduate of Piper City High School and earned her bachelors of education degree at Eastern Illinois University. She was the beloved wife of Edmund A. Wisniewski who preceded her in death on July 15, 2008. They were married in Ottawa on July 3, 1975. Theirs was a true love story that played out over the next 33 years. For decades she was a loving step-mother to Mark Wisniewski and Kathy Wisniewski, and a very proud “Grandma Sandy” to James and Bree Wisniewski.
Sandy was a second-grade teacher at Wallace Grade School for 22 years until her retirement. Determined to stay busy and continue to influence children, she then worked part-time for years at the local educational toy/book store in Ottawa.
Sandy loved life and partook of it fully. She accumulated a gaggle of friends, the best of which was her loving sister Donna Herr. She bowled. She golfed. She played cards. She did yoga at the “Y” until the end and loved walking the track there. She was an avid reader, and a faithful watcher of all of the seasons of Survivor, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune. She loved board games, and on the first day she met her future daughter-in-law she took no mercy and beat her pants off in Scrabble. At the end of her life, she preferred to be called “Wordle Queen”!
Sandy liked to travel and stopped smoking 42 years ago just so her husband would have to fulfill his promise to take her to Hawaii if she did so (he hated to fly). The fact that she was a loyal and dedicated friend throughout her life was evident in the fact that until the very end she was still in regular contact with, and made yearly trips to California with, her high school friends to visit another of their group which was formally known as the “Round Robins” (Donna Herr, Rita Brown, Susie Capperelli, Nicky Hurt, CJ Lozen, Shelley Handcock, Donna “Fless” Cutsinger, Lois Birkenbeil (decd.) and Jo Somers (decd.)). She loved to tell stories of their carousing upon her return. These life-long friends were complimented by a host of others, including her once-roommate Sara Rosencranz.