A Tribute to Sandy Wickware from the Anti-Racism Discussion Group

We gather our hearts in gratitude and sorrow as we remember Sandy, our friend, who died suddenly at the age of 81 after a massive stroke. We grieve her absence, and we give thanks for her life – a life rooted in relationship, courage and a deep commitment to love, mercy and justice.

Sandy was a Providence Associate, living her call not as an abstract idea but as a daily practice. She understood that relationship is at the heart of the Providence mission – relationship with one another, with those on the margins, and with the unfinished work of justice in our world.

A Steady Force

As a member of a Providence Circle, Sandy saw a need and responded. She was the steady force behind the Anti-Racism Discussion Group, which she formed and faithfully sustained – first meeting weekly for more than four years, and more recently twice each month.

The group, made up primarily of older white women, gradually grew and expanded to include others beyond the Associates. Sandy knew it was important to share information and perspectives from Black Community members.

She brought several members from the local NAACP Chapter to participate and enrich the learning of the discussion group. Sandy welcomed that growth and made it happen. She believed learning should widen us, not comfort us.

Sandy felt – deeply and clearly – that we have an obligation to learn. And she had a quiet, determined way of making sure that learning happened. She helped shape the group’s direction, sought out speakers, and reached beyond familiar circles to invite voices that could challenge, teach and inspire.

Through stories shared, hard truths spoken and hopes voiced for real change, Sandy helped create a space where listening itself became an act of justice.

Justice Became Real

Sandy also entrusted us with stories from her own life, stories she shared not to center herself, but to help us understand the world more truthfully. She spoke of growing up as a Black child and young woman in a small Indiana town during the 1950s and 1960s, years marked by exclusion, resilience and quiet strength.

In sharing these memories, Sandy gave us a gift: She helped history become personal, and justice become real.

In all that she did, Sandy carried herself with kindness and care. Her compassion was not passive; it was active, lived out in service and presence across many chapters of her life. For many years, she served as a foster grandparent in an elementary school, offering patience, encouragement and steady love – helping to shape young lives simply by being there, day after day.

Sandy was also a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) representing the best interests of abused or neglected children, ensuring their voices were heard and they received safe, permanent homes.

Sandy also volunteered for years at Ryves Hall, a community center run by Terre Haute Catholic Charities offering after school and summer programming and meals for young neighborhood children. She also worked for 20-plus years as a correctional officer in a women’s correctional center, a role that required strength, dignity and a deep respect for human worth.

Breaking Barriers

And, as we understand it, Sandy broke barriers early on, becoming the first woman volunteer firefighter in Indiana, once again stepping forward where courage and service were needed. Our Anti-Racism Discussion Group benefited from all Sandy demonstrated by her life and leadership.

Sandy was a mentor to many, often without naming herself as such. She guided by example, by listening, by asking the hard questions and by staying. Most recently, she took on yet another sacred responsibility, becoming the guardian of two young great-grandchildren, embracing once more the work of care, protection and love across generations.

Within the last year, Sandy created space for reflection and relationship by starting a book club for members of the Anti-Racism Discussion Group. Some of us continue to be blessed as part of a group where ideas and the challenges of racism continue to be explored, where voices are welcome and community is formed.

Justice Work is Never Finished

I believe Sandy leaves each of us – especially those of us in the Anti-Racism group – with her strength, her hope and her gentle insistence that we not turn away from the work. She trusted us enough to believe we would continue. She challenged us not simply to remember her, but to honor her by staying engaged, by continuing to learn, to listen and to be changed.

Sandy understood that justice work is never finished. She asked us, implicitly and explicitly, to keep asking the question: What’s next? Not as a demand for quick answers, but as a posture of faithfulness – faithfulness to truth, to relationship and to the dignity of every person.

Her life reminds us that learning is an act of love. Showing up matters. Staying matters. And doing this work together – imperfectly, honestly, persistently – is one way we keep Sandy’s spirit alive among us. We will miss all of the love and her guidance. May she rest in peace.