Sandra Sheffield Ammons

The smartest person we know has walked over the bridge to join loved ones in heaven.  She takes mortal leave of this rollicking, revolving world – this Sun, that moon, a walk around Lake Junaluska, a stroll through the Fresh Market, a game day in Knoxville, and the memory of a child’s hand in hers. 

Sandra Sheffield Ammons was born in Canton, North Carolina in 1942 and passed on March 4, 2024. The birth and death of this great lady; however, is not nearly as relevant as the time that she lived between those dates. Sandra was intellectually gifted and had tremendous natural insight and curiosity about the world.  She graduated as “most intellectual,” as an honor student from Bethel High School and achieved high honors, a Dean’s List candidate, and a Sigma Delta Pi Spanish Honor Society member at the University of Tennessee in 1964, with degrees in romance languages and English. She was a member of the UT Century Club for many years later.

She began her teaching career at Harriman, Tennessee and Waynesville Township, moved to Stecoah and Robbinsville schools in North Carolina, then transferred to Haywood County (Waynesville Junior and Tuscola) and Buncombe County schools to retire in 2002. She earned several awards for serving in this role, as an English, Spanish, and traveling ESL teacher, which came more naturally than any job might for most of us. She was a gifted teacher who knew how to motivate her students beyond average standards. She always said that she believed in her students’ abilities and that she would not let them settle for mediocre achievements. 

Sandra was a member of the First United Methodist Church. She was an active band booster, swimming stroke coach, poet, culinary artist, Jeopardy and crossword master, and teacher of many. There was never a time when neighborhood kids, friends, or a community of youth were not welcomed in her home. She was the parent who would lend an ear, offer guidance through growing pain battles, and provide a meal like no other. She encouraged strong ethical and critical thinking skills by serving as a strong example of both. She dared to think and act outside of the box to create new ways of accomplishing challenging tasks, always exemplifying courage to face life head-on and do the right things.

Sandra met the love of her life, Jack Austen Ammons Sr., while working in his pharmacy at Medical Arts after college and had three children.  When Jack passed away in 1978, she decided to raise her children on her own and never remarried. Her other gift was in parenting, as she gave fully to their education and upbringing, with an extraordinary level of inspiration, constantly reinforcing that they could be anything, do anything, and conquer anything. Sandra loved nothing more than sitting in the bleachers watching her kids and grandkids play sports, march in the band, and win (or lose) a race. Up to the end of her life, she was happiest in the wheelchair section of a state championship football game and a UT or WCU game to see her kids perform. 

After suffering several strokes and losing her son, Jack Austen Ammons Jr. in 2023, life became more challenging for Sandra, but she lived with strong will and grace, always geared up for adventures and cheering on her teams. Her new mission takes her to a wonderful place where she will be socializing, dancing, eating cake, and reading to her heart’s content. She left detailed instructions for her grandkids to celebrate her mission here and face life with the courage to go against the grain. 

Left to carry on Sandra’s legacy are her daughters Amber Ammons Fish (Shane), of Candler, North Carolina; Leslie Ammons Copeland (Billy) of Franklin, Tennessee; four grandchildren named, Coleman Ammons, Graham Simpson-Ammons, Hudson, and Maclean Copeland; sister Joan Sheffield Prince and nephew Jeff Sheffield Queen of Waynesville. Sandra has many surviving cousins who were loved dearly. She also leaves behind two stepsons, Oliver and Mark (Lisha and Melissa) in Robbinsville, North Carolina and half-sister Margaret Greer of Charlotte. Preceded in death are parents, R.C. and Faye Byrd Sheffield, husband Jack Ammons Sr. and son Jack Ammons Jr., and half-sister Elsie Turner. 

The family would like to thank Maggie Valley Rehab for the care and love of their beloved mother this past year.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm, Friday, March 8, 2024, in the Waynesville Chapel at Wells Funeral Home with burial to follow at Crawford Ray Memorial Gardens in Clyde.   The family will receive friends from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm prior to services at the funeral home. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the First United Methodist Church, Waynesville, PO Box 838, Waynesville, NC  28786.

“The meaning of life is to find your gift.  The purpose of life is to give it away.” – 

William Shakespeare