Sandy "Sam" Lopau

Sandra Mae Miller was born in Pipestone to Garold and Belle (Stanton) Miller. She attended and graduated from Pipestone High School in 1968 and worked at the Pipestone Skilled Nursing unit before marrying Delwin Lee Lopau on December 4th, 1971 at Peace United Methodist Church. Together they built a farm and a family northwest of Pipestone where they were blessed with their three daughters, Jenny, Kris and Becky.

Even while keeping the home fires burning, Mom worked various jobs she enjoyed while we girls were in school. She worked at Schulze’s Florist, indulging in her love of flowers, before joining her good friend Sue at SoJo’s Sportswear. In 1999 she began working at Pamida and when it became Shopko, she joined the pharmacy team. Mom worked as a Pharmacy Tech there until 2019 when we finally convinced her to retire.

Dad proceeded her in death on March 6, 2009 and she made the move off the family farm in 2017 where she enjoyed putting the neighborhood to shame with her many flowers and watching the neighbor girls play in their (and her!) backyard. She bowled for many years, couples bowling with Dad and league bowling with great friends and looked forward to the state bowling tournament every year. The year following Dad’s death, on Mom’s 60th birthday, we began the annual tradition of a Girl’s Trip and every year since have celebrated Mom with an adventure that includes shopping, pedicures and so much laughter. While we were always well behaved when we were together, we can’t guarantee it was the same for her shenanigans with her friends Sue and Jane over the years! Mom loved to volunteer at church, working at the Verdi Church Supper for years until it closed and she joined Peace United Methodist where she was active with the quilters (where she specialized in tie blankets) worked in the office and helped with JAMS and in multiple other ways. She baked countless pans of buttermilk brownies and delivered them to friends and family. In addition to baking and gardening, “Gramma Sam” loved to spend time with her family, attending many, many activities with her grandkids and most recently “GG” (Grandma Great) could be found at any family event snuggling one of her “greats”.

Mom passed away peacefully surrounded by her entire noisy, chaotic but so very loving family at Pipestone County Medical Center on Saturday, September 12th.

Mom’s devoted love and sarcastic wit will be greatly missed by her children, Jenny (Matt) Severson, Kris (Brad) Carson and Becky (Chris) Sietsema all of Pipestone. She will always be remembered by her “favorite” grandchildren, Jesse (Kim) VanderPlaats, Kasey Stangeland, Taylor (James) Innes, Matti Carson, Jack Severson, Molly Severson, Tanner Sietsema, Cassi Carson, Blake Sietsema, and Jase VanderPlaats as well as her “greats”, Kynzlee Innes, Kobie VanderPlaats, Kolesyn Innes, Jay VanderPlaats and Kora VanderPlaats. Also grateful for having shared in her life is her sister Pat (Duane) Hansen of White Bear Lake and many incredible in-laws, nieces and nephews.

She was greeted in Heaven by Dad, as well as her parents and her in-laws, Milton and Florence Lopau and her brothers Joe, Gary and Denny Miller.