Sandra Dee Senft

Sandra Senft, born October 16, 1961, passed away on May 4, 2026. She leaves behind a legacy of service, leadership, and a deep commitment to supporting women and girls in her community.

Sandra was especially passionate about expanding opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for young women. As the Tech Trek coordinator for the Big Bear Valley branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), she dedicated herself to helping middle school girls envision futures in fields where women remain underrepresented. Through her work, she identified, mentored, and prepared students to attend Tech Trek, a weeklong summer camp held at local universities that provides hands-on learning and exposure to female role models in STEM.

Beyond Tech Trek and AAUW, Sandra believed in giving back and donating her time to the Big Bear Lake community. She was a pillar of philanthropy and volunteered with numerous local nonprofit organizations, including Soroptimist International and Rotary International. She also helped organize holiday support for families in need, raising funds to provide grocery gift cards and gifts to single mothers and their children during Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Professionally, Sandra had a distinguished career in information technology and finance. She served as Assistant Vice President of Information Technology Support Services at Farmers Insurance Group in Los Angeles, where she oversaw operations including IT finance, project management, and vendor management. She also worked internationally as Chief Financial Officer for the Information Technology Department at Zurich Financial in Switzerland. In her later years, she co-founded Altitude Financial with her partner, Lisa Patterson, where she continued to share her expertise with the Big Bear community.

Sandy touched the lives of everyone who had the honor of knowing her. Her life was marked by generosity, hospitality, leadership, and a commitment to helping people become the best version of themselves. Through her work, she opened doors for countless young women and made a lasting difference in her community. Sandy had a passion for travel, the outdoors, biking, entertaining and hosting friends and family, and spending time in her award-winning garden. Her selflessness, warmth, and generous spirit will be remembered forever. She leaves behind a legacy of love, strength, and compassion that lives on in all of us.

She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Paul Senft; her children, Jennifer and Doug Hamann, Steven and Clarissa Senft, Gregg Senft and Kat Moua, and Tiffany Allen; her grandchildren, Cristiane Puig, Kai Senft, Brayden Hamann, Aara Church, Gavin Hamann, and Oliver Puig; her sister, Toni Valenzuela; and her brother, Tommy Carter.

In lieu of flowers, we encourage you to honor Sandy’s legacy of giving back by seeking volunteer opportunities in your communities and discovering the love and fulfillment that come with helping those in need. This, we believe, would be the best tribute to her extraordinary life.

At the family’s request, there will be no service at this time, and a celebration of life will be planned in the coming months.

Memorial email address created. Loved ones can send photos, videos, remembrances, etc to this address. We will compile all of the media sent to this email address for the Celebration of Life.

SANDY SENFT MEMORIAL EMAIL

Email: SandySenftMemorial@gmail.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sandra Dee Senft, please visit our floral store.