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SANDLIN -- Dr. Doral Randolph Sandlin, known as "Sandy" to family and friends, died at home on September 3, 2009, at the age of 79, with his wife of 50 years, Terri Sandlin, at his side. Sandy was born April 7, 1930, in Pecan Gap, Texas, the sixth of J.R. and Ethel Sandlin's seven children. J.R. passed away when Sandy was just 3 years old, leaving Ethel to raise seven children single-handedly in the heart of the Great Depression. Later, the family moved to west Texas to be closer to Ethel's family. Sandy graduated from Lubbock High School in 1948, and spent two years at Texas Tech before graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1954. While in Annapolis, he helped the Navy men's basketball team reach the NCAA Sweet 16. He met his future wife Terri Sawyer while stationed at Castle Air Force Base, the two married in 1959. Sandy received his master's in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology while stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1967. Between March 1967 and February 1968, he served as a flight test officer for a fighter wing in Vietnam. In 1969, he accepted a position as a professor of aeronautical engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Sandy retired in September 1992, after a 23-year career that included time as the Aeronautical Engineering Department's chair. He and Terri moved to Albuquerque in July 1993; they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on June 27. Sandy is survived by his wife, Terri; his children, son Justin Sandlin and wife Kirsten of Castle Rock, Colo., daughter Jennifer Smith and husband Greg of Albuquerque, N.M., and son Doral E. "Ned" Sandlin and wife Shannon of Xenia, Ohio; and his seven grandchildren, Ross and Drew Sandlin, Chelsea and Laurel Smith, and Georgianne, Madeline, and Chase Sandlin. There will be a Memorial Service at 10 a.m., Saturday, September 12, 2009 at Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque. In lieu of flowers the family has requested that donations may be made in memory of Sandy to: Shalom, Inc. (a Christian mentoring for juvenile justice system) c/o Calvary Chapel, 4001 Osuna Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109 or The Ranches, Mike Kull President, New Mexico Boys and Girls Ranches, P.O. Box 9, Belen, NM 87002-9901 or American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312. Those who wish to express their condolences may do so at www.danielsfuneral.com. Sandy's care has been entrusted to: Daniels Family Funeral Services 2400 Southern Blvd SE Rio Rancho, NM 87124 (505) 891-9192
        Published on: Wed September 09, 2009