Sandra "Sandy" Jane Bruce Hampton

Sandra “Sandy” Jane (Bruce) Hampton

August 15, 1936 – September 30, 2025

Family and friends will celebrate the legacy of Sandra Jane Hampton on Monday, October 6, 2025, with visitation beginning at 11 AM and a service of commemoration commencing at 1 PM at Williamson Memorial Chapel in Franklin, TN. The family will facilitate a private burial at a later date.

On Tuesday evening, September 30, 2025, we lost our beloved Sandy, our mom, our Grammy, our family lynchpin, and a woman who shared nearly 70 years of marriage to her devoted husband in her 89 years on this earth. She had a deep love for her family, a quiet and unassuming commitment to serving, and a fiercely held faith she lived out in actions that spoke louder than sermons. She poured wisdom and encouragement into the lives of her children, David Hampton of Franklin, Tennessee, and Jacqueline “Jackie” Hampton of Nashville, Tennessee and her beloved granddaughter, Lauren Hampton McDonald (Peter “PJ” McDonald) of Spring Hill, Tennessee. She was Grammy to her two great-grandsons, Patrick McDonald and Jackson McDonald and a “virtual” grandmother to many others.

Sandy was born in Mt. Carmel, Illinois on August 15, 1936, and attended the local grade school and high school until she went to Lockyears Business College in Evansville, Indiana to pursue studies in an accredited secretarial business school. She subsequently met and married the great love of her life, Jack Hampton of Mt. Carmel, Illinois in 1956 and ultimately moved to Evansville, Indiana where they spent many decades of their adult lives together where she worked tirelessly as a homemaker and involved mother in the lives of her children and the various ministries of her local church. Along with working in her husband’s HVAC/Refrigeration business handling the daily calls and office details, she enjoyed many years of hospital volunteer work, her local ladies bowling league, and numerous other activities from floral arranging and decorating to gardening and creating beauty wherever she saw an opportunity. She even completed a course of certification in the art of clowning creating a character she named, “Winky” who visited nursing facilities, children’s homes, and numerous events where a smile, laughter, and some balloon art might be called for.

Upon Jack’s retirement they made a sacrificial move to the Nashville, Tennessee area to support their adult children who were navigating various life-challenges while also realizing the need to make themselves available to age in a more convenient geographic location to their family. The result was an abundance of new opportunities to develop rich relationships, deep investments in the lives of those she loved, and from that to experience being loved by so many in return. The unforeseen blessing of great-grandchildren who were yet to come became a source of her greatest joys as she enjoyed her front row seat to the adventures of their young lives. From one very sacrificial move late in life came an opportunity to experience the love of everyone she touched.

Sandy’s example of navigating difficult realities was a pivotal part of her legacy to her family. Pushing through fears and taking on challenging commitments played out daily when she decided to pursue the three-days-per-week dialysis treatment she would need to treat kidney failure and subsequent cardiac issues. The determination and prayerful consideration she applied to all her decisions and challenges demonstrated to everyone in her circle of influence that she believed taking on difficult things requires knowing our bigger “why”. Looking for purpose when no purpose could be assigned to her suffering found her creating her own opportunities to experience purpose. The simple ways she blessed her dialysis clinic staff with homemade treats and goodies to the literally dozens and dozens of handmade stuffed bears and bunnies she delighted in creating to offer children and adults alike. A favorite shirt of a departed loved one could become a memory bear for someone grieving loss. A scrap of material suddenly became a toy that a child forced to leave his home in crisis could be given by a law enforcement officer to help garner trust. Children suffering from chronic illnesses could be comforted by having a stuffed toy that she thoughtfully made and named. Knowing someone somewhere was finding comfort in her simple vision was all part of creating a life that was outward facing rather than the inward preoccupation of her own suffering.

Her legacy of a life well lived and her unspoken message that love is an action word will continue through the lives of each of us touched by her.