Sandra H. Whitman

This obituary is written to honor Sandra Whitman, who passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, with her daughters by her bedside.

Sandy Whitman was born in Toledo, Ohio on February 25, 1932.  She was the first child of Aaron and Sally Liebenthal.  She graduated from Maumee Valley High School, attended the University of Michigan for 2 years and then transferred to Boston University, where she graduated with a degree in theatre.  Sandy loved to sing and act. 

After college, Sandy worked for her father ‘s business, the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company of Toledo, and acted in local theatre productions.  Lloyd Whitman was in Toledo for business and by chance attended a show that Sandy was acting in.  He was taken by her performance on stage, called her the next day and they were married 6 months later!  A few months after they were married, Sandy and Lloyd moved to Grand Rapids where Lloyd owned and ran Grand Rapids Buildings Services for 30 years.  Together they had 3 daughters, Stephanie (Whitman), Jody (Dreher) and Susan (Harrison).

When Sandy and Lloyd first moved to GR, they lived in an apartment complex and met several other newly married couples who would become their lifelong friends. This group liked each other so much that they all moved to East Grand Rapids and spent many joyous times together (along with new friends), raising their families and socializing.

While in Grand Rapids, Sandy and Lloyd were active members of Temple Emanuel.  Sandy directed several shows at the Temple and was President of Hadassah.  When Lloyd suddenly and tragically passed away at the age of 63, Sandy moved permanently to their second home in Indian Spring, Boynton Beach, Florida.  There she made another group of very close friends with whom she played bridge and tennis, participated in book clubs and golfed regularly.  She also co-wrote, co-directed and starred in many productions of the annual theater production at Indian Spring.  She wrote many clever parodies!

While at Indian Spring, Sandy met Norm Gekoski, who had been a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia.  Together they travelled the world, hosted Israeli tennis players and supported Israeli tennis.  Norm had two children: Marcy and Alane, and 3 grandchildren: Meredith, Kimberly and Seth, with whom Sandy enjoyed fun and loving relationships.   After 10 years of living together, Norm, unfortunately, passed away.

Sandy then met Barton (Bob) Shaffer.  They had a wonderful 15-year marriage, until Bob passed away in 2014.  Bob had been a professional basketball player for the Lakers and was listed in the Guinness Book of Records twice for his athletic accomplishments. He was also known as Mr. Simon Sez, appearing on “What’s My Line” and the Johnny Carson Show.  Bob had 2 children, Cheryl and Janice, whom Sandy lovingly embraced.  She remained in contact with her stepchildren throughout her life.

Sandy was blessed with many talents.  She had a beautiful singing voice.  She was witty, a good tennis player and an excellent golfer, carrying a handicap of 15 for most of her adult years.  She passed her love of golf and tennis down to many family members.  She was a great cook and hosted many delicious get-togethers.  She paid close attention to politics and current affairs and was a supporter of democratic ideals. 

Sandy was dedicated to, and inspired by, her family.  She was blessed with 7 of her own grandchildren: Max and Ian Snow, David and Danielle Dreher, and Ben, Noah and Samantha Harrison, as well as two great-grandchildren: Dylan Dreher and Sophia Snow-Doyle, whom she loved with every ounce of her being.  She developed strong and loving relationships with all her sons-in-law, Joel Dreher, Fred Snow, Rob Harrison and Hal Sprague. She loved and admired her brother Bruce Liebenthal and his wife Judy and her sister Dana Alexis Zeller and her husband Mark.  She also had warm relationships with her nephews and niece. She was crazy about her daughters.  She was a loyal wife and friend, a wonderful mother, and a joy to be with.  She had an infectious laugh and was a curious person.

The last few years of Sandy’s life were spent at The Mather in Evanston, Illinois, where she bonded with her nurses through humor and played bridge every Friday.  She read the newspaper and many books.  She was well taken care of and still did her best to take care of her family.

Sandy was predeceased by her daughter Jody in 2013 and by her son-in-law Rob Harrison in 2016.  She is survived by the rest of her family and stepfamily.  She is hugely missed already.

Funeral services will be held at Temple Emanuel, 1715 Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Sunday, November 10, at 1:30 p.m. (ET, 12:30 CT) with the burial and a casual dinner to follow.  The virtual link for those who cannot attend in person is: Sandra Whitman Funeral Livestream | November 10th, 2024 | 1:30pm.  Donations in Sandy’s honor can be sent to “Fore the Ladies”, a non-profit that helps train and encourage young women in learning the game of golf  https://www.foretheladies.com) or Israeli Tennis & Education Centers, which helps young people learn and advance in tennis (https://itecenters.org./itecenters.org).

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