Sandra Elaine Brobston

Mrs. Sandra Elaine Holloway Brobston, age 82, of Baxley passed away Saturday, January 10, 2026 at Lakeside Senior Living, in Douglas, GA.

Mrs. Brobston was born on June 19, 1943 in Lake Charles, Louisiana to the late William T. Abney and the late Dorothy Sutherland Holloway. She was very close to her older and younger siblings. Each 17 months apart, they were raised as “triplets” and were known to complete each other’s sentences. If one of them broke the rules, they all took the fall with an “all for one, one for all” type spirit. After her mother remarried to the late William F. Holloway their military family grew to include six children. She considered herself a Navy brat and the family moved often to different states including California, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington State. It served her well through life by helping her to become a true “people person.” She graduated from Amador High School in Pleasanton, CA, where she excelled in all her classes and had an active social life. She had a love for music and was an accomplished soloist and starred in local theater productions.

After graduating, while working at a telephone company to earn her way through Visalia Community College near Lemoore Naval Air Station, she met her future husband and love of her life, Stan Brobston, a Navy pilot at Lemoore. They married in 1964 at the completion of his duties and retirement from the military and then moved east to New York where she completed her four-year degree. She went on to earn master’s degrees in both French and Spanish while Stan completed his PhD in music. She lovingly raised two sons while teaching French, Spanish and ESL for the NY Public School System in Brentwood, NY. She was a leader for the National Junior Honor Society and enjoyed sharing her considerable artistic and creative talents during innumerable school functions such as door decorating contests. She had the ultimate school spirit.

She was a trivia wiz and fantastic game player. In the mid 70’s she even won a new sports car as a four-day winner on the TV game show “Concentration” with Hugh Downs as emcee. She was known to do the NY Times Sunday crossword puzzle in an amazingly short time. She was very involved at Farmingdale Baptist Church and later the Bayshore Methodist church as both a choir member and Sunday School teacher.

Upon retiring, Sandy and Stan moved to Stan’s hometown of Baxley, GA where they lived on Lake Mayers and entertained guests frequently. They traveled the globe on many adventures both international and domestic visiting family and old friends and making new friends on cruises and Elder Hostel trips. In 2017, they took a once in a lifetime trip around the world visiting many prominent tourist destinations.

She was a fantastic gourmet cook, learning first from her mother and later studying French cooking while earning her master’s degree in Paris. She had a library of cookbooks and enjoyed spoiling family and friends with her creations. She cooked for the Joy Group at Baxley’s First Baptist Church for many years. She also loved singing in their choir and teaching Sunday school there. She was involved with SOURCE, a care management group offering preventive and supportive services for older and disabled Medicaid recipients. In addition, she volunteered much of her time to CASA, a trained volunteer group that advocates for underprivileged children in the courts. She and Stan were so involved in the community that in 2015 they were voted by the Appling County Chamber of Commerce as Citizens of the Year. It was the first time the honor was bestowed on a couple.

After Stan’s passing in 2022, she remained strong and independent up until very recently when she suffered a number of severe falls inducing advanced stages of Alzheimer’s related dementia. Even during this time, she continually expressed how grateful she was to have lived such a full, loving and joyful life.

The family wishes to express profound thanks to all the health care providers and care givers who went above and beyond to meet her medical needs and offered superb care at Appling Healthcare in Baxley, Coffee Regional Medical Center in Douglas, and the Lakeside Senior Center facility in Douglas. We especially thank her nephew Wendell Beckworth for all of the love and support he provided to Sandy.

Survivors include her sons, Stanley Holloway Brobston and his former wife, Kara Gutterman Brobston, of Connecticut, and Stephen Henry Brobston and his wife, Irena Mazun Brobston, of New York; grandchildren, Franklin Gregory Brobston, Parker Elizabeth Brobston, Steele Sutherland Brobston, Hayes Gutterman Brobston, Sara Beth Brobston, and Montana Lee Brobston; siblings, Dolores (Leland) Moura, William Abney II, Barry Holloway, Karen (Bert) Morrow, Larry (Collean) Holloway; sister-in-law Charlotte Brobston Kimsey; nieces and nephews, Michelle Moura Bray, Jennifer Moura Sullivan, Christopher Herndon, Charisma (Keith) Herndon Arbogast, Brandon Holloway, Robert Holloway, Ryan Holloway, Briana Holloway, Wendell Beckworth, Margie Beckworth Clotfelter, Becky Beckworth Wright, Melanie Florence Brobston Bearden and Millie Annette Brobston Garcia Fogarty; also many grand and great grand nieces and nephews.

A memorial service celebrating her life will be held Friday, January 23, 2026, at 10:30am at First Baptist Church with Rev. Fred Anderson officiating.

There will be a reception and lunch in the fellowship hall at noon with interment to follow in Omega Cemetery at 2:00pm. All are welcome for any or all of the commemoration. 

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church.

Please consider supporting the Alzheimer’s Association, the Alzheimer’s Association of America and/or CASA as a remembrance.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Swain Funeral Home.