Sandy Villella

Sandy was born February 02, 1947 in Minneapolis, MN. He was the second oldest of sixteen children who grew up in Lauderdale, MN. Sandy graduated from Alexander Ramsey High School in 1966. 

The year after graduating he was drafted into the Vietnam War, serving as a Combat Engineer with the US Army 1967-1969. He returned home a proud Veteran, and reminisced occasionally about the war, sharing that he had spent his 21st birthday in a fox hole, and had experienced some triumphs amongst the difficult losses during his service in Vietnam. 

Sandy married his first wife, Sharon, in December 1966. They had three children together, a son and two daughters and lived in Blaine. Sandy later married Barb in October 1993. They had one daughter and along with Barb’s son lived in Oakdale.

Sandy worked as a Master Craftsmen in furniture repair. He was an all around handyman. He loved to garden, cook, hunt, fish and spend time at his property in Crosslake. He enjoyed building furniture, spoiling his animals and keeping his family updated on the latest weather changes. He was a generous and caring man. He would always tell you to “drive safe” and “take care of yourself” and make sure you had everything you needed when you visited him. 

Sandy passed away peacefully at home on February 07, 2024. He was a loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather and uncle. Sandy was preceded in death by his parents Constance and Harry Villella; grandson Brady Anderla. He is survived by his wife, Barb; son Sandy (Aileen) Villella; daughters, Sherri Anderla, Shelea Van Hoose and Kayla (Kyle) Sullivan; stepson Nick (Shannon) Blake; grandchildren, Michael (Elisabeth) Marinelli, Alicia (Antonio) Rodriquez, Maurizio Marinelli, Grace Anderla, Hanna Anderla, James Van Hoose, Mae Blake and Iver Blake; three great grandchildren; fifteen sisters and brothers and many nieces and nephews. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Cancer Society.

Rest In Peace

We love you and miss you.