Phyllis Rosenthal Sands MSW, age 94, died on July 2, 2019 near Boston. Mrs. Sands was born in North Adams, Massachusetts in 1924. She was the daughter of Arthur and Edith Rosenthal, prominent leaders of medical and civic groups in that city. Mrs. Sands was the 1942 Valedictorian at Drury High School and then graduated from Wellesley College and trained at Columbia University and Bellevue Hospital in New York City as a social worker. Introduced by Laura and Teddy Koven when they were both training in New York City, Mrs. Sands married her husband, Dr. William Sands at Blantyre in Lenox, Massachusetts in 1947. Mrs. Sands was a devoted psychiatric social worker for 50 years in Albany, branching out into family therapy and individual counseling. Mrs. Sands loved literature, ballet and music, film and theatre, Tanglewood and Saratoga and was an avid world traveler with William and their friends. She loved the Berkshires, tennis, and their wonderful home in Menands, which evoked memories of their years at Fort Ord in Monterey, Calif. as newlyweds. As a devoted alumna of Wellesley, Mrs. Sands was thrilled to celebrate her 70th reunion by watching her daughter in law, Paula Johnson, be inaugurated as the 14th president of Wellesley College. Mrs. Sands is survived by her daughters, Beth and Wendy; sons, Bob and Peter and their spouses Paula Johnson and Lisa Sands; brother George Rosenthal and sister Jane Fanburg; grandchildren, Jonathan, Eliot and Kate. She was predeceased by her husband.
FUNERAL NOTICE: Services for Phyllis Sands will be Friday July 5, 2019 at 2:00 PM at Congregation Beth Israel, 53 Lois St. North Adams, MA. Burial will follow in Beth Israel Cemetery in Clarksburg. Shiva will be observed Saturday evening from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM at the home of her son, Robert at 735 Washington St. Wellesley, MA. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent to Wellesley College 106 Center St. Wellesley, MA 02482; Congregation Beth Israel, 53 Lois St., North Adams, MA, 01247, or the charity of your choice. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.