Had a love for music, life and a good laugh
WAKEFIELD — Sandra “Sandy” Gail (Whitehead) Dickinson, a lifelong resident of Wakefield, died peacefully on March 4, 2023 at the age of 82.
Sandy is survived by her husband of 51 years, Arthur Dickinson; her children, Pamela (Dickinson) Eddy and her husband Bruce of Nashua, New Hampshire; Robert Dickinson and his wife Maureen of Blandford, Massachusetts; her grandchildren, Ryan and Parker Eddy. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Barbara (Dickinson) Hallstrom and her husband Robert; nephew Neal Whitehead, and nieces Sara (Whitehead) MacKenzie, Janice Whitehead, Wendy (Whitehead) Gabriel, and Victoria (Demenkow) Lee.
She is predeceased by her parents Leo and Anne (Piper) Whitehead, her dear brother David and wife Irene (Lovette) Whitehead, and her nephews Shawn Demenkow, and Edmund Mackenzie.
Sandy graduated from Wakefield High School in 1958. She attended Northeastern University and received her Associates Degree in Liberal Arts.
From a very early age, Sandy developed a love of music. She took piano lessons for several years in her childhood. She played the xylophone in her high school marching band. Throughout her life she played and taught piano, and sang and directed in both church and community choirs.
Sandy worked for the Environmental Protection Agency until she became a mother. As her children were growing up, she began working weekend nights as a receptionist at the Holiday Inn and later Day’s Inn in Woburn where she worked for seventeen years. Sandy had a great sense of faith and was a longtime member of the Greenwood Union Church. It was here that she started her career as an administrative assistant. Following working there for many years she transitioned to being an administrative assistant at the First Church of Woburn and worked there until she retired.
Sandy’s children and grandchildren were the pride and joy of her life. The legacy of Sandy’s smile and her love for life, music, and a good laugh will live on through them. She will be deeply missed by Arthur, her family and friends, and all who had the opportunity to know her.
Her funeral service will be held at Trinity Evangelical Church, 105 Haverhill Street, North Reading on Saturday, March 18 at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Puritan Lawn Cemetery, 185 Lake Street, Peabody. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held Friday, March 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Sandy’s name to The Alzheimer’s Association.
