Sandra Kay Irwin, of Yorba Linda, passed away at home the morning of July 14, 2019 at the age of 65. Her husband Dale Dickau was by her side and her daughters, Anna and Julia, and son-in-law David were upstairs (or, as she would happily say, she had everyone under one roof).

Sandy was born on November 28, 1953, to Virgil Marvin Irwin and Shirley Mae Irwin in Spokane, Washington. As a young child, Sandy was nicknamed "Scout" by her father because he was reminded of the main character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. When Sandy was two years old, the family moved to Whittier, California, where Sandy and her three siblings - older brother Michael and two younger sisters, Holly and Lisa Gail - grew up. When Sandy was in high school, the family spent a year driving around Europe, and Sandy attended school in England for part of that year before graduating from La Habra High School in 1971. Sandy went to several universities before graduating, including the University of the Pacific, Fullerton College, and Cal State Fresno and received her BA in Art History from Cal State Fullerton. In school, one of her favorite teachers was artist John Parker, who also influenced her decision to become an educator; she also grew to love artists like Gustav Klimpt and Marc Chagall. After she graduated, Sandy returned to Europe and traveled solo around the continent for six weeks. She then began working and earning her teaching credential at Chapman, where she met her husband Dale while living in Fullerton. Sandy and Dale began dating when Sandy was 26 and were married eight years later on July 25, 1987.

After receiving her credential, Sandy worked as a substitute teacher before starting her career as a second-grade teacher at Panorama Elementary School. Sandy and Dale had their first daughter Anna in 1990 and their second daughter Julia in 1994; after Julia was born, Sandy took a leave of absence and worked as a stay-at-home mom taking care of her daughters for several years. When she resumed teaching, she was reassigned to Crescent Primary, where she worked for the rest of her 28-year teaching career. Although she occasionally taught a 1st/2nd grade combo, Sandy usually taught 2nd grade. She loved teaching children's authors and won a grant for her "continent project," which entailed filling seven boxes with books, artifacts, toys, and information from each continent. Ms. Irwin's classroom was also known for her yearly Poetry Tea, for which each student memorized at least one poem. Then, students invited their families to watch them recite their poems and have cookies, juice, and tea with the class. For many years, Sandy was also the union representative and fought passionately for teachers' rights, all while educating her daughters on the importance of unions by bringing them to meetings and strikes.

Although Sandy worked extremely hard as a teacher, she took her job as a mother and wife just as seriously. She consistently volunteered in her daughters' classrooms, chaperoned field trips, attended orchestra concerts, and drove to youth groups and dance classes. Like her parents before her, Sandy also wanted to make sure her children and husband got to see the world, so she took them on many road trips up the California coast, to Alaska to see her brother Michael, and on a much-anticipated road trip around Ireland. Later, she met Anna in London after Anna finished studying abroad in Paris and the two drove around England; a few years after that, she took a similar trip with Julia. Sandy was also an active volunteer in organizations such as the Western Service Workers Association and the Church of the Foothills in Tustin until the time of her death. She formerly volunteered with the Special Olympics and Pilgrim Pines Camp.

Finally, Sandy worked hard to ensure that everyone in her life felt loved and cared for. When her daughters left southern California for school, she sent them boxes on each holiday with cards, food, gift cards, and even a little something for the roommates. She regularly kept up with friends and relatives and let those close to her know that she valued their friendship. Sandy always enjoyed hearing her daughters practice the violin and accompanied Dale to many concerts and jazz camps where he played the guitar. Her children sometimes called her Grandmother Kitten because of the way she spoke to (and sometimes, for) the family's cats, and she was equally loving to Julia's new dog Max. She enjoyed walking laps around East Lake and meeting her friends for lunch. If a family member was going to be out of the house after dark, Sandy always made sure the porch light stayed on till they were home. She will be dearly missed.

Sandy is survived by her husband Dale Dickau; her daughters, Anna Perrigo and Julia Dickau; siblings Michael Irwin, Holly Irwin, and Gail Irwin; and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws.

There will be a memorial service for Sandy at the Church of the Foothills UCC (9211 Dodge Ave, Santa Ana, CA 92705) on Saturday, July 27, 2019 with 3:00 PM Visitation for family and friends and a Memorial service at 4:00 PM. All are welcome to attend and celebrate her life.

Sandy asked that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Nature Conservancy or the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Arrangements under the direction of Chapman Funeral Homes - Terry & Mary Harmon, Funeral Directors. Toll free (855) 628-0447.

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Obituary notice for Chapman Funeral Homes. Please visit www.chapmanfuneraldirectors.com .

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