Our world lost a beautiful smile when Darla L. Sanders died unexpectedly of natural causes on Saturday October 22, 2022.

Darla was born January 19, 1943 in Canada. She was the only child of Byron and Ivy (Dove) Murray.

Her parents relocated many times while she was growing up, and she would tell us the story of how she attended 5 high schools before the family finally settled in Orange County, California and she graduated from Orange High School.

She aspired to be a flight attendant, however all that changed when she met and fell in love with a young sailor, David Russell, while visiting in Santa Barbara, CA. Darla and David married on June 9, 1962, and were married for 25 years. They had two daughters, 22 months apart, and Darla always said that, because she disliked growing up as an only child, she was so happy that they were close in age and the best of friends.

Darla began a long career in photo finishing with Fox Photo of San Diego. Eventually, she retired from Tru Color photo in 2002. During the span of her career she met many wonderful friends, many she kept in touch with until the time of her passing, especially Norma Gallant and Ruthie Annunziata.

In 1992, she met Delbert Sanders and married in March 1995, together they shared a wonderful story of love, food and silliness. They moved to Wisconsin in 2002 and lived in the Pardeeville/Portage area until the time of Del’s passing in 2013. The years she spent with Del were some of her happiest and he helped indulge her love of jewelry and home decorating.

After a mild stroke in 2020, she moved to Deforest, WI to be close to her daughter, Dana, who provided care for her although she remained primarily independent. She enjoyed her little apartment, being close to her granddaughters and able to attend their school functions, she looked forward to her once a month “big” shopping trip on Sunday morning, and her absolute favorite was Friday night dinners out at Arandas.

Darla is survived by her daughters, Dawn (Brian) Erickson of San Diego, CA, Dana (Frank) Horner of Deforest, WI, her grandchildren Bond Erickson, Elizabeth Horner and Kathryn Horner and her cat, Pogo. She is further survived by her Brother in Law, James (Peg) Russell, nephews Evan and Charles Russell, and her cousins; Joan (Dave) Wallace, Derek (Terri) Relf, Steven (Sherry) Relf and their families.

And mostly she is survived by all of us who shared her smile, sense of humor and the laughter of this beautiful person we were so fortunate to call Momma, Grammy, or Friend.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00PM on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 6924 Lake Road, DeForest. A visitation will be held from 11:00AM until the time of services on Saturday at the funeral home. A private family burial service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Columbia County Humane Society. To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services Windsor/DeForest Chapel 6924 Lake Road 608-846-4250

Darla Sanders

January 19, 1943 - October 22, 2022

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