Audrey Ione Sanders

Audrey Ione Sanders was called home in the late afternoon of November 25, 2024, just prior to sunset and about two months shy of her 93rd birthday.

She entered this world on January 30, 1932, as the first of five children born to Ina (Hanson) and Alfred Sanders on their farmstead a few miles outside of Hoffman, MN. Growing up on the farm in a house without running water or electricity, Audrey learned early the value of hard work and founded her life upon the two solid pillars of faith and family. She graduated from Hoffman High School in 1950, part of a class of 10. She then moved to the “big city” of Minneapolis, where she spent a year studying at the Lutheran Bible Institute and later earned certificates in secretarial and bookkeeping disciplines at the Minnesota School of Business. For the rest of the 50s, Audrey worked in administrative support roles with various companies, including a stint at Cargill, but was always on the lookout for an opportunity that more closely aligned with her Lutheran values.

That came in 1961 when Audrey answered a call from the ELCA looking for young adult volunteers to come work at Holden Village, an old mining town in central WA. The denomination had recently been given the land and buildings and decided to turn Holden into a retreat center, but before that could happen the village needed significant repairs, renovation, and general sprucing up. Audrey thus became part of a group known as the Forerunners who formed the “fellowship of sweat and dirty hands” during that memorable summer as they created a mountain haven for those looking to reconnect with God, Nature, or both. She then helped to staff the village’s Seattle office during Holden’s first two years of operation.

After that experience, Audrey returned to Minneapolis and settled in a neighborhood a few blocks northeast of Lake Harriet. There she became a member at the nearby Bethlehem Lutheran Church, and eventually began working for Augsburg Fortress, a publishing company that specialized in printing materials for ELCA congregations. Audrey never married and had no children of her own, but such was her love of family that she poured almost all her energy into becoming the archetype for what is today known as the PANK (Professional Aunt, No Kids) when her younger siblings started producing a continuing parade of nieces and nephews. They eventually numbered 18 after the last two arrived in 1989, and as of today that crew has expanded to add 29 great nieces and nephews, along with 9 great-greats in the next generation so far.

Audrey retired from Augsburg in 1997 and traded her south Minneapolis apartment for an Edina condo, but instead of slowing down she just shifted focus. She became a perpetual volunteer at Bethlehem and ramped up her travel. Her many trips included yearly weeks in FL visiting her snowbird brother LeRoy, group bus tours to Branson with her sisters Marlys and Karen (sometimes with brother Willard as the coach driver), and Forerunner reunions at Holden. She also continued to show up in big ways for all those nieces and nephews.

Talk to anyone in this group and they will regale you with stories of how Audrey was a constant presence in their lives. Whether it was a weekend trip to visit grandma Ina in Hoffman, birthday celebrations, school events, summer picnics, or holiday gatherings, Audrey did it all. And whenever someone needed a break, a meal, or financial support after life threw them a curve ball, she was there to lighten the burden and extend both kindness and wisdom. Above all, Audrey was a woman of faith, integrity, and compassion. She reminded us to take joy in the ordinary, to fill life with experiences as opposed to things, and to go about your days with humility and a servant heart. You could say Audrey was an angel in human form, and we were all exceedingly lucky and blessed to have had her for as long as we did.

Preceded in death by her parents Alfred and Ina, sister Karen Barrett, brother LeRoy, and sister-in-law Ruth. Survived by her brother Willard (Sandra), sister Marlys Siverson (Gerald), brother in-law Kenneth Barrett, and the nieces and nephews and their descendants too numerous to name. Funeral was held at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Minneapolis on Friday, December 6, 2024. Burial at Bethel Cemetery, Hoffman, MN. Arrangements by Gill Brothers Funeral and Cremation Services.

The family requests that any memorial gifts in Audrey’s honor be directed to either the Bethlehem Foundation or Holden Village: <https://www.bethlehem-church.org/foundation/>  <https://www.holdenvillage.org/donate/>