NEW SCOTLAND — Carolyn Sand loved her family, enjoyed traveling, and liked to place a good bet.

Recovering from a recent illness and heart surgery Mrs. Sand died unexpectedly on Friday, Aug. 16, 2013. She was 68.

“Her grandsons were everything. She was a good mother,” said her son, Michael Sand. “It seems weird; whenever something like this happened before, she was always around the corner and checking in. It’s weird because she’s not there; this time it is her.”

Mrs. Sand was born in Niskayuna on March 8, 1945, the daughter of Curt and Frances (née Hesner) Unverhau.

She married David A. Sand, who died in 1995; they had two sons, Michael and Todd.

“Whenever my brother or I would get in trouble, we went to our mother because we knew our father would kick our butts. She was always our savior,” said Michael Sand.

Mrs. Sand worked as a clerk at the Department of Tax and Finance and then at the New York State Thruway.

She took an active role in supporting her family and would regularly cheer them on at school sporting events, as both a mother and grandmother.

“She would come to all our high school and Little League games,” recalled Michael Sand.

Later in life, Mrs. Sand would continue her encouragement by often attending her grandchildren’s games, even traveling out of state to see them.

One trip took her to Illinois where she watched her grandson play in a special Little League series. Michael Sand remembered a moment in the trip when he and his mother made a pit stop.

“She bought us Lotto tickets. I was there looking at mine and I thought I won $2,500. So I yelled it out and Mom reaches over and whipped it out of my hand and jumps up and says, ‘I won $2,500,’” said Michael Sand, laughing at the memory.

He said his mother enjoyed playing card games, bingo, and dominos. The family made a habit of playing cards every Sunday.

“She won some in Las Vegas,” said her son, “We don’t know how much. She always kept that kind of stuff a secret.”

He said his mother enjoyed winning a bet and playing games, especially when it came to cards. “She had a lot of fun with it,” he said.

Mrs. Sand also enjoyed traveling with her family. As a young mother, she made yearly camping trips with her family and, throughout her life, she would enjoy making trips with relatives to the coast of Maine.

She liked lighthouses and pigs, and collected all kinds of things involving either, said her son. She will also be remembered for her good cooking, especially her chocolate cake and barbecue ribs recipes, he said.

“She would bring food up all time,” said her son. “And, growing up, it always seemed like she was making something. She was a great cook.”

Mrs. Sand remained close with family in the last few years, visiting with relatives on a daily basis.

“I would stop by every night on my way home from work,” said Michael Sand. “Every night, she’d always ask about the grandkids. She was so proud of them,”

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Carolyn Sand is survived by her son, Michael D. Sand, and his wife, Debbie; her mother, Frances Unverhau; her grandchildren, Christopher, Eric, Alex, and Matthew; her sisters, Janice Miller, and her husband, Kenneth, and Helen Herchenroder, and her husband, Chuck.

She is also survived by her niece, Dana Jennings, and her husband, Matthew, and her great-nephew, Curt Jennings.

Her husband, David A. Sand, and her son, Todd Sand, died in 1995.

Calling hours were Monday at Fredendall Funeral Home in  Altamont. A funeral service was held on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the funeral home. Interment followed at Memory’s Garden Cemetery. Online condolences may be made at www.fredendallfuneralhome.com.

Memorial contributions may be to St. Peter’s Hospital Cardiac Care at 315 South Manning Blvd., Albany, NY 12208.

—Tyler Murphy