Sandra Ann Day

As a youngster, I lived in suburban Cleveland. Our large backyard had a garden, fruit trees, and play areas. There was a plethora of greenery nearby as we lived close to a county common area and across the street from a college. When I was in first grade, a volunteer spoke to us about living in harmony with nature. She gave a card to each pupil, and I became an instant fan of the Audubon Society. I continue to support their environmental efforts and those of the Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and others.

When I was seven, our family relocated to Los Angeles. I missed neighborhood playmates, relatives, and familiar activities, but the coastal climate, ocean views, flowering hillsides, and olive trees offered a new kind of beauty. I was the youngest of three children and the only girl, and I was taken by the excitement of California life.

My father’s employment offered a transfer to Arizona – that bright, dry, and hot place we drove through each summer heading to Ohio and Canada. Phoenix offered a dramatic change of landscape and activities and became the center for our family’s next generations. After studying at Arizona State University in Tempe and the University of Arizona in Tucson, I settled in Tempe.

Through the years, I volunteered in scholarship selection, accepted college and alumni roles, and engaged in legislative advocacy for public education. I also judged high school speech competitions. I helped connect my grandkids, nieces, and nephews to ASU men’s and women’s sports events. Traveling to the College World Series in Omaha and road games during the season added to the experience. My college ties also included my granddaughter playing for four years in the Sun Devil Marching Band and both pep bands for basketball.

My legal career began at the Arizona Supreme Court and then included nonpartisan services for the Arizona Legislature for more than 13 years. Public policy research, drafting, and statutory revision involved a stimulating mix of subject matter areas.

I next pursued administrative law, serving as a judge and chief counsel at the Arizona Industrial Commission, then moved to the State Compensation Fund, and ultimately to private practice representing claimants for workers’ compensation, Social Security disability, and public safety retirement benefits. Technical medical issues provided variety and challenge, and supporting people experiencing major life changes was essential.

As a diversion, I pursued mediator training and volunteered in the justice courts. After more training, I served for two decades as an employment discrimination mediator for U.S. Postal Service. I closed my disability practice in 2020 and ended my employment dispute mediation services in 2025.

For many years we attended Resurrection Parish in Tempe. My daughter and I sang in the choir, and I learned that a choir friend, Nancy Reisdorff, had previously been a member of the School Sisters of St. Francis community. I volunteered in landscape gardening at both the parish and the Desert Botanical Gardens. I also volunteered as a teacher for teen Confirmation instruction.

We had a robust and well-regarded education program supervised by Sister Kathleen Kluthe. After completing her graduate studies in 1985, Sister Janet Guenther joined the parish staff as a chaplain and counselor for those returning to the Catholic Church. Sister Jan supported our entire family through the terminal illness of my father, and I became an associate of the School Sisters in 1986.

In time, Sister Kathleen accepted a parish position in Tucson and later worked at Salpointe Catholic High School. Sister Jan accepted a chaplaincy position at the Banner Health complex across from the parish, and she and I volunteered together as Eucharistic ministers at the Franciscan Renewal Center. Sister Jan later felt called to resume Catholic elementary teaching in Chandler, where she developed confident, enthusiastic, and successful learners.

I have been blessed for many decades by the caring, uplifting, and joyful involvement with the members of the School Sisters of St. Francis community.

Thank you, Sandy, for your 40 years of Associate Relationship and your varied ministries throughout your life. It seems you have always been a Franciscan at heart, with your deep love of nature. We congratulate you as you celebrate your 40th year as an associate of the School Sisters of St. Francis.