Sandra “Sandy” Lynn Chepa was born April 30, 1953 in Sycamore, IL to Al and Lois Nelson. She lived in Genoa, IL until the age of 7 when the family moved to a farm in southwest Minnesota near Fulda.

After graduating high school, she attended Granite Falls Area Vocational Institute. She worked several years at banks in Marshall and Slayton. She married Gary Fiedler in 1975 and lived on a farm near Avoca until their divorce in 1997. They had one daughter, Genea.

She worked several years at New Dawn in Fulda, a live-in facility/group home for adults with developmental disabilities. In 1998, she met Bill Chepa and they were married on October 20, 2000 in Hayward, WI. After finding property near Hayward, they started building a home in 2002 and moved there in July of 2003.

In Hayward she had a number of jobs, including cabin and house cleaning, Domino’s pizza delivery and several years at Care Partners Assisted Living. She eventually became self-employed, doing home health care which was a good match for her kind and compassionate personality.

She retired in 2015 and in January of 2016 learned of her stage four lung cancer diagnosis. After her five year fight, she passed away on February 16, 2021.

She is survived and will be missed by her husband, Bill; her daughter, Genea (Jon) Halejak of Maple Grove, MN; her brother, Bruce (Neila) Nelson of Otsego, MN; her sister, Joanette (Verne) Sandhurst of Omaha, NE; her stepson, Ryan Chepa of Marshall, MN; and his children, Sienna and Austin.

The family thanks everyone for cards, flowers, meals, and thoughts and prayers. Special appreciation goes out to Sandy’s congregation, the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Genea’s employer and his wife, and many others, including her oncologists, doctors, nurses, and the great help received from hospice.

Last Update: Feb 19, 2021 10:04 am CST