Ann Joyce Sandner

Ann Joyce Ulleberg Sandner

June 27, 1937 – July 22, 2026

• Ann Joyce Ulleberg Sandner passed away peacefully on July 22, 2026, at the age of
• 89. Ann lived a long and full life centered on family, faith, education, friendship, and a
• genuine curiosity about the world. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, and great-
• grandmother; an accomplished speech pathologist; a proud Norwegian American; a
• world traveler; an avid bridge player; and a woman who treasured the many close
• friendships she made throughout her life.
• 
  
• Ann was born on June 27, 1937, in northern Minnesota to Albert and Lenore Ulleberg.
• She was their only child and grew up in a home where family, faith, and heritage were
• deeply valued. Her parents were second-generation Norwegian Americans, and Ann's
• Norwegian heritage remained an important part of her identity throughout her life.
• When Ann was young, her family moved to California and settled in Stockton, where
• she spent much of her youth.
• 
  
• Ann went on to become the mother of five children: Roger, Cindy, Steve, Keith, and
• Shaun. Of everything she accomplished during her 89 years, her family was always
• among the things that mattered most to her. She loved her children fiercely and
• remained interested and involved in their lives long after they became adults.
• 
  
• That devotion only grew as Ann became a grandmother and eventually a great-
• grandmother. To some of her grandchildren, she was affectionately known as Mormor.
• She took great pride in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and loved watching
• the family continue to grow. She began life as an only child and ultimately became the
• matriarch of a large family spanning several generations. Being Mom, Grandma,
• Mormor, and Great-Grandma was a tremendous part of who Ann was.
• 
  
• Ann was also a strong believer in education. While raising her family, she pursued her
• own education and ultimately earned a master's degree in Speech Pathology. She built
• a career helping children communicate, learn, and succeed, working as a speech
• pathologist for the El Dorado County School District while also maintaining a small
• private practice.
• 
  
• Education remained important to Ann throughout her life. She was a member of Delta
• Kappa Gamma, the International Society for Key Women Educators, as well as Pi
• Lambda Theta, an honor society and professional association for educators. Ann was
• intelligent, well educated, and always eager to learn.
• 
  
• She was equally interested in the world beyond her profession and community. Ann
• loved to travel. Her travels took her throughout Europe and to Japan, giving her
• opportunities to experience different countries, cultures, and people. She enjoyed
• seeing new places and experiencing things that were different from home.
• Norway, however, was more than simply another place to visit.
• 
  
• Ann traveled to Norway numerous times to explore her family's roots and visit relatives.
• Through those visits, she developed close relationships with her Norwegian family.
• What could have remained simply names and branches on a family tree instead
• became real relationships and lifelong bonds stretching across an ocean.
• 
  
• She returned to Norway many times over the years, maintaining those family
• connections and strengthening the relationship between the American and Norwegian
• sides of the family. Ann was proud of where her family came from and wanted those
• connections to continue with the generations that followed her.
• 
  
• Her Norwegian heritage was also something she celebrated closer to home. Ann was
• actively involved in both the Sons of Norway and the Daughters of Norway. Through
• those organizations, her travels, her interest in family history, and the relationships she
• maintained in Norway, her heritage remained a living part of her life rather than simply
• something belonging to the past.
• 
  
• Ann's Catholic faith was equally important to her.
• 
  
• She was a devoted Catholic and attended St. John Vianney Catholic Church. She was
• also involved with the Catholic Daughters of the Americas. Her faith had been part of
• her life since childhood and remained a source of strength, tradition, and community
• throughout her life.
• 
  
• Ann was a woman with many interests, and she valued friendship enormously. She had
• many close friends, including friendships that lasted for decades. She was an avid
• bridge player and belonged to a group of friends who played together for many years.
• She genuinely enjoyed the games, but just as important were the friendships,
• conversation, laughter, and time spent together around the table.
• 
  
• She also had an independent and fun-loving side. Later in life, Ann owned a Mini
• Cooper that she loved. It may be a small detail compared with everything she
• accomplished during her lifetime, but it is also the kind of detail that makes those who
• knew her smile and remember her personality.
• 
  
• Ann built a life filled with people and things she cared about. She raised five children
• while pursuing an advanced education. She established a career helping others. She
• traveled internationally. She maintained relationships with family thousands of miles
• away. She practiced her faith. She celebrated her Norwegian heritage. She played
• bridge with friends for decades. She became a grandmother and great-grandmother
• and watched the family she loved continue to grow.
• 
  
• There was never just one thing that defined Ann.
• 
  
• She was educated and accomplished, but she was also curious and adventurous. She
• valued tradition but wanted to see the world. She was serious about her profession and
• education, but she also knew how to enjoy an afternoon playing bridge with friends or
• driving the Mini Cooper she loved. She treasured the heritage she inherited from her
• parents while making sure the relationships behind that heritage remained alive for
• future generations.
• 
  

And through it all, family remained at the center.

• Ann's life began as the only child of Albert and Lenore Ullberg in northern Minnesota.
• Over the course of 89 years, her world grew enormously. The only child from Minnesota
• ultimately became the matriarch of a family spanning multiple generations and reaching
• across an ocean.
• 
  
• Ann is survived by her five children and their families: Roger Stagnaro and his wife,
• Florlinda; Cindy Moore and her husband, Alan; Steve Stagnaro; Keith Sandner
• and his wife, Christina; and Shaun Wilhelm and her husband, Ken.
• 
  
• She is also survived by her grandchildren, Heather Moore; Mariah Nti Asare and her
• husband, Isak; Candyce Stagnaro Morales; Andrew Stagnaro; Thorstein Wilhelm;
• Emily Hotaling and her husband, Aiden; Megan Sandner; and Mikayla Sandner;
• and her great-grandchildren, Melanie, Christopher, and Belinda Morales; Theodore,
• Oliver, and Samantha Nti Asare. She also leaves behind extended family and loved
• ones in both the United States and Norway.
• 
  

Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Lenore Ullberg.

For her family, the generations that followed her may be Ann's most meaningful legacy.

• We will remember the master's degree, the career in speech pathology, her commitment
• to education, her Catholic faith, the trips to Europe and Japan, her many journeys to
• Norway, her involvement with the Sons of Norway and Daughters of Norway, Catholic
• Daughters, decades of bridge games, the many friendships she cherished, and even
• that Mini Cooper she enjoyed so much.
• 
  

All those things tell us something about Ann and the remarkably full life she lived.

But to her family, she was something much simpler and much more important.

She was Mom.

• She was Grandma.
• She was Mormor.
• She was Great-Grandma.

She was ours.

And she will remain a part of the family she loved—for generations to come.

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