Mabey, Sandra Lee

BURLEY—Sandra Lee Powers Mabey, age 78, passed away from this crazy life, on February 13, 2022, in the comfort of her home, with her loving husband by her side. It is believed that her death was caused by her getting ice cream stuck in her throat. She leaves behind a very dysfunctional family that she was very proud of and that she didn’t mind pretending like she didn’t know when she was in public.

She was born in Burley, Idaho, on December 17, 1943, to Glen Powers and Beryl Guiles Bodily, and this is where the story gets fuzzy. Apparently she went to the school of hard knocks. She had to walk for miles to school everyday, in the snow, uphill both ways. That must have been exhausting. She worked a full-time job, never asked for money from her parents, did her own laundry, cleaned the house, fixed dinner and took care of her brother and sister all by the age of five.

She met a man, had a baby boy, left the man; got hit by a car on a bike and broke her neck; met the love of her life; eloped, added two baby girls, and kept the man. That was a very busy 11 years. Things then slowed down for her a little bit so that she could spend her days chasing her kids around to all of their sporting events.

She could rival any Indy 500 driver in the Astro van. She was exceptionally good at getting back on the road after sliding off. Crawford Body Shop & Towing was on speed dial.

Sandra would never hold back her opinion, regardless of what it may be. She definitely had a knack for telling it the way it was, even if her audience didn’t want to listen.

Sandra was an exceptional cook in the kitchen. She could make a bowl of Campbells tomato soup taste like a bowl of red butter, and none of us knew how she did it. Must have been one of mom’s secret recipes.

She loved her family as much as she loved her house cleaned, and trust us, she loved to clean that house with us as her little helpers, back when child labor was legal, so we were told.

Sandra was a great mother and teacher and even taught her children to stop calling her at work, even if the older sister was chasing the younger sister around the house with a butcher knife.

One of her favorite pastimes was spending warm summer afternoons on the lake, operating the ski flag, while James tried not to drown the kids.

She left behind a hell of a lot of stuff to her husband and children who have no idea what to do with it. If you are in the market for any plastic spoons, forks, straws; clothes in every size imaginable (still with the tags on them); a leather jacket from the 70′s that’s so old it’s cracking; 17 pairs of tweezers; countless mismatched diamond earrings (because she always seemed to only lose one), or a leather massaging chair that may have been used once, but will definitely need to be cleaned; please wait the appropriate amount of time and get in touch with the family. Tomorrow would be great.

Sandra’s witty personality, quirky smile, and infectious laugh will sorely be missed by all who knew her. We love you mom!

The family would like to give a heart-felt thank you to Horizon Home Health & Hospice for the compassion and care that they provided to Sandra over the last several months. She was preceded in death by her mother, Beryl Guiles Bodily; father, Glen Powers; step-father, Ray Guiles; and one grandchild, Tyler Mabey. She is survived by her husband, James Mabey; her three children, Travis Mabey of Kent, Washington, Jennifer Bartlett of Meridian, and Tiffany (Cam) Reese of Boise; eight grandchildren; one great-grandchild; her brother, Larry (Sherry) Powers; and sister, Vickie (Jim) Samuelson.

The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, February 23, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - Pella 1st Ward, located at 160 W. 400 S., of Burley, with Bishop Stephen H. Baker officiating. Burial will be in Pella Cemetery.

Family and friends will be received from 5 until 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 22, at Rasmussen-Wilson Funeral Home, 1350 E. 16th St., in Burley, and from noon until 12:45 p.m. Wednesday, preceding the funeral, at the church.

A webcast of the funeral service will be available and maintained at rasmussenwilson.com.