Ilner “Sandy” Sanders died Monday, March 29, 2010, at Promise Specialty Hospital. She was 95.

A native of Hattiesburg, Mrs. Sanders was one of six children. Her father was a sharecropper, and the family moved frequently. She quit school in the ninth grade when it turned cold outside because she did not have any shoes to wear.

She married Wilburn Sanders when she was 20. They farmed outside of Anguilla for years. She later worked as a waitress and sales clerk in Greenville and Vicksburg.

She was an expert quilt maker and seamstress. She also loved to garden until her health did not permit. She loved and had a great time at the Canton Flea Market.

She loved to read romance novels! She really enjoyed Christmas and was excited as a child when presents were opened. Though poor all her life, she enjoyed each day to the fullest, always having a bright smile and a bright attitude. She loved all animals and people.

She was preceded in death by her parents, three sisters and one brother.

Survivors include two sons, Wilburn Sanders Jr. and Kenneth Sanders and wife Janie, all of Greenville; one daughter, Patti Schneider and husband Gene of Brandon; a sister, Lurline Walker of Vicksburg; five grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Glenwood Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Green Acres Memorial Park. Visitation will be from noon until the service.