Thelma ” Tillie” P. Sandiland

Thelma P. Sandiland

March 31, 1925 – August 23, 2021

Family will receive friends Sunday, August 29th from 4pm to 6pm followed by VIGIL SERVICE at 6pm, all at the West Center Chapel.  MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL: Monday, August 30^th at 10am at St. Gerald Catholic Church, 9602 “Q” Street.  Interment: Resurrection Cemetery.  Memorials are suggested to the Nebraska Heart Association.

To view live broadcasts of the Vigil Service and Mass, please go to www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button on our home page.

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Thelma “Tillie” was born March 31, 1925, in Jolley, Iowa.  She was the second child of four children born to Lawrence and Frieda (Hammen) Peiffer.  She grew up on the family farm.

Tillie completed primary and high school in Fonda, Iowa.  In 1945, she moved to Omaha, Nebraska to attend business school at Commercial Extension School of Commerce.  In 1953, she met Earl Sandiland, Jr. at the Happy Hour Bar that was located at approx. 26 and Farnam Street in Omaha.  They married in Fonda, Iowa, less than a year later, on April 24, 1954. 

Before having children, Tillie worked for the Better Business Bureau and Union Pacific Railroad.  She left the workforce in 1955 to raise her family. In 1973, she returned to the workforce as the office manager at Grove & Company, a real estate appraisal firm, where she stayed until 1985 when she left to assume the ownership of Uni-Matic Corporation where she held 2 US patents for dispensing equipment.  In 1989, she sold the business and patents to a customer in Des Moines, Iowa.  From 1989 to 1997, she worked for NASD/Sylvan Certification Testing Center and then American Express Financial Advisors from 1997 to 1998, when she retired.  She also spent many years as a business partner to her daughter, Debbie, as consultants for NuSkin and Pharmanex.

Known and loved for her quick humor and kind heart, Tillie was loved by many.  She had the work ethic of an Iowa farm girl and fire of a woman willing to change the world of business.  Tillie will be remembered for her ability to live through life’s challenges with a sense of humor and maybe a few colorful words.

Tillie was preceded in death by husband, Earl in 2008; parents; sister, Lavonne and her husband Joe Reis; infant brother, Clarence; brother, Cletus; brother-in-law, Bill Sandiland; nephews, Paul Peiffer, Ronald Reis; nieces, Joleen and Connie Reis.  Waiting for her on the rainbow bridge are her beloved Pierre, TeCe, FiFi, and Molly.  Left to embrace her memory are her five children and their families: Roxann and Mike Kieffer and their children, Ashley Buneta (Andy) and Jason; David and Becky and their children, Ryan and Jack; Deborah and Robert Walters and their children, Ron Carlentine (Erin), Jillene Muzhongo and Cody; Mark and Julie and their children, Jennifer Grossnicklaus (Chad) and Dani Kelley (Jake);  Gregory and Julie and their children, Samantha Jadlowski (Jacob), Alex Reiners (Nicholas) and Mitchell (Ciara); great-grandchildren: Skylar and Drew Buneta, Kelvin and Krew Carlentine, Paislee Muzhongo, Arden Grossnicklaus , Alden Reiners; sisters-in-law: Jo Peiffer and Allie Sandiland; nephew, Dennis Reis; nieces and their families: Teresa (Peiffer) Knoblauch, Ann (Peiffer) Stoltenberg, Marilyn (Peiffer) Johnson, Elaine Peiffer; and many friends.

The family would like to thank and honor the wonderful staff and caretakers at Elk Ridge Assisted Living Center for the love and care they provided to our beloved Tillie over the last 4 ½ years.