Melba G. Sands, 79, long time Dowling Park and High Springs resident, passed away Wednesday, May 29, 2019 in Dowling Park. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in High Springs where she worked at the Early Childhood Education Center for many years. She was a native of Parrott/Dawson, GA and a resident for many years in Central Florida. She was married 40 years to Edward “Sonny” Sands.
She is survived by daughters Gwen (Mike) Ellis of High Springs and Nancy (Steve) Smith of Horseshoe Beach; son Mitch (Deb) Sands of Franklin, NC; 14 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, five sisters, and three brothers.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name can be made to Alzheimer’s Association, North Florida Chapter, 2421 NW 41 Street, Suite A-2, Gainesville FL 32606 (online at https://www.alz.org/cnfl/donate) or to Advent Christian Village, Ministries for Children, P. O. Box 4305, Dowling Park, FL 32064 (online at https://acvillage.networkforgood.com/ and select Ministries for Children from the dropdown box).
You will be missed Melba. I am thankful that I got the chance to meet you, work with you, hang out with you, get to know your 3 children and to call you my friend. You never took any guff off anyone but you cared about those who crossed your path. Anyone who spent any amount of time around you knew just how much you loved your family but most importantly they could tell just how much you loved our Lord and Savior. God lived in you and you never hesitated, in fact you loved, to talk about Him, to testify for Him. Even though we here on earth are feeling the loss, I know Heaven and all your loved ones who went before you are loving the reunion and are happy to see you. I look forward to the day I get to see you again, as I know your family left behind does too. You touched and, I am quite positive, changed, many lives during your time on this earth. We will keep you in our hearts til we meet again. Enjoy your Homecoming, Melba, you have earned it. R.I.P. I love you with all of my heart.