ALTAMONT — Sandra Ann Mary Hunt Hawrylchak, a mother of five, had a love of discovery evident in her work as a researcher and archivist and in her outdoor and homemaking pursuits.

She died peacefully at home shortly before midnight on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, after a long battle with cancer. She was 76.

She was born on Jan. 16, 1949 to Dorothy Chenier Hunt and Donald Hunt in Troy, New York.

After graduating from Lansingburgh High School, she studied German and French at the State University of New York at Albany, where she was a member of the Beta Zeta sorority. She went on to receive her master’s degree in German.

She married George Hawrylchak on Sept. 9, 1972, and they moved to Guilderland in 1981, before their oldest child started kindergarten.

“When her children were young,” her family wrote in a tribute, “she was active in the schools, serving in the PTA, the Music Parents and Friends Association, and as a class parent. With George, she helped build the Guilderland Rec Soccer program into one of the largest youth sports programs in the region. She was also instrumental in founding the Guilderland girls’ modified lacrosse team, serving as its first coach. 

“While raising her children, she also worked for more than 35 years as a researcher and archivist with her longtime colleague Dr. John Spalek. The two traveled to conduct interviews and to catalog and collect the papers of German-speaking exiles to the United States in the early 20th Century, establishing major archives at universities in the United States and Germany, and co-authoring more than 20 scholarly volumes.

“After her retirement, Sandy applied her passion for history and archival research to tracing her own family genealogy, eventually documenting over 500 ancestors with detailed sourcing. This same love of discovery was visible in her other hobbies.

“When she and George built their dream home with a panoramic view of the Helderberg Mountains, she spent numerous weekends hunting through estate sales for the perfect pieces to decorate it. She also carefully assembled an enormous library of books, including so many of the mysteries that she loved to read and lend to friends and family.

“Sandy was an avid cyclist and hiker, both before and during her illness. She went on numerous expeditions with her childhood friends, including multi-day bike rides, hikes in the Catskills and Adirondacks, and visits to local landmarks and historic sites.

“In 2015, she retraced the path her parents hiked 50 years earlier to the peak of Mt. Marcy. She also enjoyed daily nature walks on the forest trails behind her home. She was a good sport about being pressed into service as a member of the family’s canoe relay race team.

“‘Grandma Sam’ was a devoted grandparent and a constant presence at her grandkids’ sporting events, recitals, concerts, and other activities. She could often be seen knitting or crocheting and supplied her family with many warm blankets and winter hats.

“She loved celebrating holidays with her family and was able to spend her last Christmas at home with all of her kids and grandkids. She will be dearly missed.”

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Sandra Ann Mary Hunt Hawrylchak is survived by her husband of more than 50 years, George; her five children, Anya Kattef (Josh), Michael Hawrylchak (Amy), Lara Cox (Mike), Shana Hawrylchak (Peter Ford), and Nicholas Hawrylchak (Jocelyn); and her five grandchildren, Nadia, Adam, Levi, and Elena Hawrylchak, and Piper Kattef.

Her parents, Dorothy Chenier Hunt and Donald Hunt, died before her, as did her brother, Donald Hunt Jr.

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2024 from 1 to 3 p.m. at New Comer Cremations & Funerals, 343 New Karner Road, Colonie.

Memorial contributions may be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.