Cecilia Stanford

Cecilia Ann “Annie” Stanford was born October 8, 1973 in New Iberia, Louisiana. At the age of 7 months she gained a loving family and moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. Annie learned to swim before she could walk. She took to water like a “fish”, as we called her. It was obvious even at this young age that her personality was persistent, determined, tenacious and fun. The next three years were spent in Corpus Christi until she and her mother moved to Houston. At the age of five, her stepdad came into her and her mother’s life and the family moved to Kilgore, Texas. She attended school at West Rusk and Kilgore High School from which she earned her high school diploma. Annie was a member of the Kilgore HS band and various extracurricular activities. She worked at a local grocery store part time and took pride in earning her own spending money. Upon graduation from high school, she attended Kilgore College. The next year, she moved to Orange Grove, Texas to live with her grandparents. Her grandmother and her had an extremely close bond and they loved each other dearly. She attended Bee County College and again worked at the local grocery store in Orange Grove. She was selected as one out of hundreds for a work /study program at Disney World where she spent the summer of 1993. Several months later she married Doug Stanford, the father of her precious daughter, Julie, and they resided at Lake Corpus Christi. Annie chose to go back to work when her daughter reached school age. She worked in the medical field at Humpal Physical Therapy, making the long drive every day. Annie and Julie moved to Calallen several years later and she pursued her interest in the medical field earning a degree as a medical assistant. Her most recent jobs were with Lone Star Country Store and also Brewster Street Ice House. Annie never met a stranger and had many friends and family that loved her. She enjoyed her love for the water sharing many good times with friends at the beach and poolside. Among her many attributes was that she was loving, kind hearted, sweet, comforting, loyal, funny, outgoing, dependable and punctual. Friends, family, and employers could always count on her. She also had a special gift of decorating . Her home was magazine beautiful and she believed that cleanliness was next to Godliness. Annie loved her church and was a greeter at Church Unlimited.She was preceded in death by her brother, Trey Sands.Survivors include her loving daughter, Julie; Julie’s father, Doug Stanford; parents, Sandy and Button Sands; special sister and best friend, Kara Sands; nephews, Blake, Ryan, Jacob and Daniel Rose; Frank and Laura Engelking, Byler Engelking, and Allison and Dan Hughs; also several aunts and uncles, cousins, many many friends and her two beloved dogs, Teensy and Lola.Visitation will be from 4:00-6:00 pm Sunday, October 29, 2017 at Sawyer-George Funeral Home in Calallen, Texas.Services will be conducted at 2:00 P.M. Monday, October 30, 2017 at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Orange Grove, Texas with Rev. Jan R. Putnam of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church and Bil Cornelius of Church Unlimited officiating.Burial will follow at Sons of Hermann Cemetery in Orange Grove, Texas. Pallbearer are Doug Stanford, Blake Rose, Byler Engelking, Rudy Galvan, Greg Roussel, Ross Edmonds, Matt and Thomas Zabel. Friends and family are welcomed to a gathering after the burial at the Lutheran Church in Orange Grove.