Forrest Allan Sanders

Forrest Allan “Sandy” Sanders of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma passed away on Tuesday, December 16, 2025 at the age of 96.

Forrest was born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin in 1929 to Kenneth D. and Cordelia (Grohskopf) Sanders. He attended grade school through high school in Sheboygan.

In 1947, Forrest enlisted in the Air Force just as it was becoming a separate branch of the military. He eventually ended up in Lubbock, Texas where he met and married Virginia Ruth Hazelwood. They had two children, Sandra Kay and Gary Allan. The family was soon stationed in Hahn, Germany and then The Netherlands, where Chuck Yeager was his base commander. He also served at Travis AFB, California, and retired as a Technical Sergeant in Texas after 18 years in the military. Following retirement, the family moved to Enid, Oklahoma where Forrest worked on the flight line at Vance AFB for ServAir and then Northrup until his second retirement.

In 2005, Forrest moved back to Sheboygan where he eventually met and married Nancy Damrow. They had 15 very happy years until Nancy’s death in 2024, whereupon, he moved to Oklahoma City.

“Sandy” was a fun loving and gregarious man who made many friends. He loved cars all his life and worked on them incessantly. He was a natural mechanic who built two dune buggies when they were all the craze and slot cars and go-carts “for the kids.”

In addition to his parents and wife Nancy, he was preceded in death by his sister, Dorothy (Larry) Stewart of Sheboygan and half-brother Glen Sanders of LaPorte, IN.

He is survived by his daughter Sandra (Russell) Bennett of OKC and son Gary (Sheryl) Sanders of Greenville, TX and two stepchildren, Deb Hanni and Mike Damrow (Kim) of Sheboygan.

He also leaves behind five grandchildren, Tamara Bennett (OKC), Melissa (Corey) Jackson (San Antonio, TX), Tyler Bosley (Wichita, KS), Beth (Vince) Ponto (Burkburnett, TX), and Jenelle (Dennis) Dalton (Austin, TX). He also had five great-grandchildren, Aidan, Ayla, Jonah, Charlotte, and Bella.