Sandra Mulhern

We are sad to announce the sudden passing of Sandra J. Mulhern.  She was born to Lyle and Maxine Ordway on December 26, 1947 in Seaside Oregon.  She graduated from Seaside High School in Seaside Oregon in 1966.  She continued with her education attending Clatsop Community College in Astoria Oregon then transferring to Oregon College of Education in Monmouth Oregon.  She completed her Bachelors of Science Degree in Secondary Education in June of 1971.  She married her husband of 48 years on July 3, 1971.  That fall she went on to teach Physical Education for the Central School District until the birth of her children Shawn and James.  She returned to the workforce joining the Oregon Department of Education in the Textbook Adoption Division.  Wanting to return to teaching, she returned to college in the fall of 1984 at Western Oregon State College to renew her teaching credentials.  She spent a number of years working as a substitute teacher in and around Marion and Polk Counties.  She decided to return to full time employment by taking a job at Oregon Housing and Community Services in the Asset and Property Management Division.  In March of 1996, she took a year break from this for one of the greatest adventures of her life, teaching English in Gobo Japan, just outside Kobe.  While in Japan she traveled and visited with the Japanese exchange students her family had hosted in the late 1980's and early 1990's.  She returned to her job in March of 1997, retiring from this position in 2003.  She never gave up her desire to continue to teach, volunteering through programs that helped English Language Learners acquire skills in English.  In her retirement, she spent time with her husband traveling around the country but always landing home in Salem Oregon.  She also spent hours in her yard, creating a garden that was admired by the rest of the neighborhood.  She loved spending time with her grandchildren, watching them compete in sports, or taking them on camping adventures around Oregon.  Her husband preceded her in death May 15, 2019.  She is survived by her daughter Shawn, son James both of Salem, six grandchildren, and many others that call her Grandma. Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, services are by direct invite of family only. Donations can be made to Shriner's Hospital in her memory.