Sandra Ann Hart 1936-2026

Sandra Ann Hart 1936-2026

Sandra Ann Hart, born Sandra Ann Bell, passed away on April 29, 2026. Sandra, known in her youth as Sandy, was born on November 11, 1936 in Woodbridge, Connecticut to Howard Harold Bell and Hilda King Bell. She is survived by her three children, April Leslie Hart, Stephanie Alexandra Hart, and Matthew Allan Hart and his wife Kate Hart, as well as her five grandchildren, Hannah, Josh and Wayde Hart, and Cole and Simone Nelson.

As a kid, Sandra was a bit of a wild child who enjoyed playing in the woods of Woodbridge and spending time at her parents’ diner, the Blue Check. She attended high school in New Haven, CT, where she later met and married Allan Huntley Hart. The two moved to Sydney, Australia, where Sandra worked and supported her husband through veterinary school. After returning to the United States, they had their first child, April, in 1963. Sandra battled cancer, undergoing experimental chemotherapy in Bethesda, Maryland, and then had two more children, Stephanie in 1968 and Matthew in 1970.

In the years that followed, Sandra learned how to pilot a small airplane, moved with her family to Hawaii for a time, took college courses, studied piano, learned to draw, and was a dedicated mother, engaging her children in enriching activities and making special occasions all the more special by, for example, baking a giant cookie in the shape of a favorite dinosaur. After her divorce, Sandra moved with her children to Shutesbury, Massachusetts, where she worked, parented, and finished her undergraduate degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her cumulative study earned her a degree with three full majors— philosophy, biology and creative writing.

Sandra worked as a reporter, an administrative assistant and a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service, where she served as union steward. She battled two more cancers before her retirement in the 1990s, after which she started a dog walking business. This last part of her working life afforded her the opportunity to lovingly care for many dogs, cats, chickens and turkeys, and to develop relationships with their owners, which she very much valued.

Sandra was deeply concerned about the environment, and was a staunch supporter of the women’s rights movement and of animal rights. She favored the small flowers and birdsong of New England, and particularly loved the spring, when all of the natural world is erupting in beauty. She kept a garden, at first a neat and orderly one, and later a bountiful, unruly one. She loved nature and wild animals, and she provided shelter and love to many cats and dogs who found their way to her.

Sandra was a loving and thoughtful woman. Her smile when she laughed was a thing of beauty. Sandra passed away in her sleep at the age of 89 in Amherst, Massachusetts. She will be sorely missed.

The family intends to hold a memorial service for Sandra sometime in the coming year.