Sandra Elaine Vela July 21, 1963 ~ January 4, 2024

Sandra Elaine Vela, affectionately known as Sandee, passed away in Austin, TX, on January 4, 2024. Sandee is the daughter of the late Darrel and Charlene Rogers of Monticello/Eastland, Utah.
She is survived by her three children, Nathan, Kendall, and Kira; her grandson, Delano; her sisters, Kathy, Jeanne, Debbie, and Lori; her brother, Ronnie; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Sandee was born at San Juan Hospital in Monticello on July 21, 1963. She grew up in Eastland on the family farm and attended school in Monticello until she moved away to southern New Mexico in her late teens. She started a family with Ruben Vela and was a loving and caring mother to her three children.
Sandee demonstrated the size of her heart by working at her church’s daycare, fostering multiple children in need of a home, and volunteering to minister to inmates at the local women’s prison.
Sandee later lived in Denver and Grand Junction in Colorado, and Pearland, Alvin, and Austin in Texas. Sandee was a strong, free spirit who marched to the beat of her own drum. She made friends easily and was always the biggest voice in the room.
Sandee was the type of person to talk to strangers one moment, then offer them a place to stay or a warm meal in the next. She enjoyed all types of art and was always working on drawing, painting, or crafting something unique and creative.
She often created art centered around nature, birds, bees, and flowers. Sandee loved animals and rescued or adopted many animals throughout her life.
In the last year she welcomed a grandson into the world who she loved very much. Sandee was a loving and beautiful person who dedicated her life to her family and the Lord.
A memorial and service will be held at Mountain View Cemetery in Eastland on Saturday, June 22 at 11:00 a.m.