Nelda Ruth Sanders

Nelda Ruth Sanders, age 74, of Louisiana, MO, passed away Thursday, October 18th, 2018, at Country View Nursing Home in Bowling Green, MO. Nelda was born June 19, 1944, in Elizabethtown, NY, the daughter of Robert and Ethel Martin. She grew up in several rural upstate New York communities with her five siblings, Thea, Art, Bob, Grace, and Abby. Art still resides in Hilton, NY. Grace resides in O’Fallon, MO, and Abby resides in Bantam, CT. Nelda left home after graduating from high school and found herself as an office manager of a secretarial pool in Albany, NY. It was in Albany where she met Thom Sanders; the man with whom she would spend more than fifty years building a life together. Married August 1, 1964, Nelda and Thom embarked together on a life in the world of radio broadcasting. The journey would take them on adventures that started from the east coast to the west coast before calling Louisiana, Missouri home in July of 1983. It was shortly after that when Nelda and her husband completed a five-year process toward signing radio station KJFM on the air in 1984. In the years that followed, Nelda balanced raising a family, (son Gordon, and daughters Jennifer and Stephanie) growing a family business and contributing to a community she embraced in her heart as home. She was passionate about her involvement as a volunteer with the Twin Pike Family YMCA. When free time presented itself, she found joy in filling it with reading, sewing, gardening, cooking and baking, and a constant stream of remodeling and decorating projects. In later years, she took great joy from her involvement as an active member of the local Red Hat Society. Of the loves not mentioned, the greatest was most likely that which she held for her grandchildren; Annine, Cali, Jack, Mia, Tayah and Tegan. She opened her heart providing memories of baking, crafts, stories, and songs, or the simple acknowledgement of beauty. In an attempt to embrace and spread Nelda’s truly exceptional spirit of love and joy, her family will hold a Celebration of Life “Ice Cream Social” commemorating her most favorite food in the world, vanilla ice cream. This will be held Sunday, October 28th, from 1 to 4pm, at the Collier Funeral Home in Louisiana.

Nelda Ruth Sanders

June 19, 1944 - October 18, 2018