Sandra Kay Enger

Sandra “Sandy” Enger, 78, passed away on Monday, November 7 ^th . Sandy grew up in southeast Minnesota on a dairy farm. She attended a one-room country school for her early education and graduated from Houston High School. In her post-secondary education, she earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Winona State College. She taught math and science in the Wisconsin and Iowa public school systems and then at an international high school in Thessaloniki, Greece. Upon returning to the US, she attended school and worked at the University of Iowa in the botany department. She spent her early career teaching math at Jonesboro High School and biology and chemistry at Nettleton High School. She furthered her education at the University of Mississippi and completed her PhD in Science Education at the University of Iowa. In her second career, she was a professor of science education at the University of Alabama – Huntsville. Throughout her career as an educator, she received numerous accolades for her commitment to teaching and teaching others to teach science. In her retirement, she returned to Jonesboro to be near her family.

She was an enthusiastic biologist and educator at heart and enjoyed plant and animal identification. Every outing, from the backyard to nature hikes, was a science lesson. She had the innate capacity to reduce complex ideas into accessible information for all ages.

Sandy enjoyed reading and travel. In her life, she visited many countries including much of Europe, Russia, the Bahamas, and Trinidad. Her appreciation of other cultures influenced her culinary expertise and repertoire. Her travels absolutely contributed to her worldly view and acceptance of all.

She is survived by her three children, Lee Enger of Quincy, IL, Chris (Amy) Enger of Jonesboro, Nicole (Daniel) Enger-Luster of Jonesboro, her brother Darrel (Jan) Corey of Dakota, MN, a grandson of Jonesboro, and two nieces of MN.

Visitation will be held at Emerson Funeral Home in Jonesboro on Saturday, November 12 ^th from 10:00am to 12:00pm.

In lieu of flowers, consider giving a donation in her name to the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society, the Learning Center, or to the Jonesboro Public Library.