Saundra K Fontes

On Saturday, November 28, 2020, Saundra Kay Sayre Fontes, loving mother of two daughters, passed away at the age of 82.

Saundra, known as Sis to her family was born on October 4, 1938 in Wheeling, West Virginia to Charles and Pauline Sayre. She earned her Certified Nursing Assistant in the mid 1960s and went on to work at Villa St. Jude Nursing Home and Deaconess Hospital among others in Ohio and California. She was married to Reginald Fontes in 1962 in Cleveland, Ohio but divorced soon after the birth of their daughters, Valora Ann Fontes Frazier and sweet angel baby Angela Rae Fontes who preceded her in death on October 20,1963.

Sis loved crafting, especially painting where she would create 8x10 pictures of a wide variety of subjects. She especially enjoyed being surrounded by friends and having raucous canasta card parties. Country music was her thing. She loved the country classics and bluegrass and got to meet some of her favorite singers at a little place in Salem, Ohio, known as Ponderosa Park. Patsy Cline and Elvis were two of her mainstays. She was know as a kind and gentle soul who would help family and friends alike. This is what made her such a natural in the healthcare industry. She had a special place in her heart for the elderly. Sis spent her last days at Midlands Living Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa where she was the delight of the staff for being playfully ornery with them.

Sis was preceded in death by her father, Charles, her mother, Pauline, her daughter, Angela, two brothers Charles Sonny and Gary, and her sister. Carolyn Cookie. She is survived by her daughter Valora and Valoras husband, Jerome, her brothers, William, and Ronald, and sisters, Norma, Juanita and Debra as well as a multitude of cousins. And her real loves, her grandsons; Tone, Ian, and Cameron.

Sis will be cremated by Good Shepherd Funeral Home and her ashes to be buried with her mother, Pauline at Bedford Cemetery in Bedford, Ohio when weather permits. Flowers or donations may be sent to Valora Fontes Frazier at 505 S. 6th Street, Apt 603, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501.