Resident of Clayton

Sandra Lauterbach passed away on October 16, 2024, following a heroic battle with cancer. She fought bravely and resiliently for years, with the same determination that defined her life.

She leaves a legacy of love, spirit and independence, which she role modeled to her family over the years.

She was born in Chicago on July 26, 1938 to Sicilian parents, Sam and Marie Bettini.

The oldest of four children, she was known affectionately throughout her lifetime as “Sis” by all of her family members. While growing up in Phoenix, she dreamt of San Francisco after discovering its beauty in vacation and lifestyle magazines. At the age of 23, she bravely fulfilled her dream by moving to The City by herself (a bold feat for a young woman in 1961) with a just few hundred dollars to her name and never looked back. She met her husband of 47 years, Dieter (a German immigrant who survived the war and who also longed for, and just arrived to, The City), later that year and the two were married in 1965.

Growing up, we watched her provide for the family as a business owner over her long career in Real Estate, while still providing at home with home cooked meals. She transferred this love of cooking and family to her sons, Eric and Hans, who carry this gift forward.

She approached this last stage of life as she had all others, including the twelve years since Dieter passed, when she reinvented her life at age 74 – her perspective was always, “forward man, always forward.”

She enjoyed traveling Europe with Dieter, time at the beach and in her beloved home of Clayton, where she lived for over 40 years. She also loved her Thanksgiving table with family and friends and time in San Clemente with family and grandchildren running around the pool. This is where “Nonna” was truly content.

Sandra is survived by sons Eric (Martina), Hans (Rhonda), grandchildren Max, Konrad, Finn, Anneliese and Francesca and sisters Mary Blank and Micki Graeff, along with countless friends, cousins, nieces and nephews. Dieter pre-deceased her in 2012.

The family is grateful for all of the compassionate care provided by Arianne’s Care Home in Concord over the past year and a half.