DONORS:

NAFEX Forum, Brandi Quick and Mario Nickerson, Fred Seaman,

Barry Ollette, Cameron Noel, Sharon Hartshorn, Axel Schardt,

Bill Barbour, Chris Lynn, Jeffrey and Vivian Odell, Paul Domski,

Janice Meredith, Ron Clarke, Graham Booth, Kevin Massey, Evert

and Bea Horton, Bob Collins, Mike Craig, Mark Thesing, (INSERT

SANDRA’S BROTHER and his wife), California Hawking Club,

Colorado Hawking Club and Indiana Falconers Association,

wedding anniversary July 14, 2010.

While they dated Sandra frequently accompanied Greg in

the ﬁeld and was not shy about helping to clean and prepare

the rabbits caught for their supper. Her rabbit, wild rice, and

mushroom soup casserole became a lifelong favorite meal that

was even written about in the local newspaper. Greg knew he

was in love. They married the following July.

Through the years Sandra helped care for Greg’s hawks when

he was off selling electronics in Indiana and Kentucky. While

she had a natural afﬁnity for handling and working with hawks,

rearing their two young children and helping with Greg’s

parents’ debilitating illnesses discouraged her from getting her

own bird to ﬂy.

When her children were older, Sandra returned to the

profession she so dearly loved to teach second grade at Stony

Creek Elementary in Noblesville, IN. Beloved and respected by

her students and fellow teachers and staff for her kind, loving,

and inspirational ways, she had fun dressing up in homemade

costumes for holidays and historical characters. She even did

cartwheels in the classroom. Her beautiful singing voice could

often be heard before, during and after class. She also was a

Master Gardener and accomplished knitter. She sang in the

choir, did solos, and taught Bible studies, Sunday school, and

Daily Vacation Bible School at First Baptist Church.

In January 2004, Sandra took a leave of absence to ﬁght breast

cancer. As she contemplated recovery after eight months of

painful, debilitating chemotherapy and radiation treatments,

she reluctantly decided to retire from teaching.

Eight weeks later she gave

Greg the surprise of his

life. One October evening

while watching TV

together she poked him

with her left elbow and

said, “I want to ﬂy a bird

with you this year.” She

wanted both to spend

more time with Greg

and get back the ﬁtness

that she had lost during

the cancer treatments. It

wasn’t long before Sandra

was manning a fresh

trapped passage tiercel

Red-tailed Hawk, which

she christened Jack.

Her teaching skills and

decades of care for Greg’s

hawks would prove to serve her well in the training process.

Returning from his visit with lifelong friend Harold Webster

and the 2004 Canadian Falconers Meet in Milk River, Alberta,

Greg found Sandra had Jack readily coming to the ﬁst and lure

and taking the hood well. After a little outdoor creance work,

Jack was ready to ﬂy free and hunt.

Ever the teacher, however, Sandra informed Greg of two

handling protocols she insisted he follow with Jack: Never pick

him up in the mew or while on any perch with food on the

gauntlet, and never throw food to him in the mew or after doing

some kind of work for it.

Sandra had noticed that Greg’s birds bated toward him in

anticipation of food. Surprise, surprise. Jack’s razor sharp talons,

perfect plumage, and no bate arc in the ground by his perch

gave testimony that he virtually never bated! Sandra’s gauntlet

was where his meals were served, and only after he worked for

them. Greg began using these methods with his birds.

Sandra proved as adept and enthusiastic in the ﬁeld as she did

at basic training. Patient and relentless in her brush beating, she

and Jack partnered to bring 50 rabbits to bag their ﬁrst season.

Sadly, Jack died suddenly of unknown causes the following year.

Sandra subsequently trapped, ﬂew and released a passage female

Red-tailed Hawk, Bella. She was looking forward to ﬂying a new

tiercel for this year. She was looking forward to trapping and

ﬂying a new tiercel with her mini longhair dachshunds, Marcel

and Millie.

Sandra is survived by her husband, Greg, daughter Sarah

(Adonis) Noguera, son Maththew Thomas, ﬁve grandchildren,

Ethan, Chloe, and Noah

Thomas and Isabel and

Gabriel Noguera, three

brothers: Adrian, Jr., Tim,

and Andrew, mother

Isabelle Messer, sister-in law

Kyle (Tim Eiff) Zubatsky,

nephew Max Zubatsky, and

many aunts, uncles, and

cousins. They and friends

who miss her dearly and

appreciated her character,

integrity, talents, love of life,

and ability to bring joy and

happiness to all she knew

can rest easy knowing she is

now home in Heaven where

she can regularly sing a real

Hallelujah Chorus.

By Greg Thomas

Sandra K. Thomas died April 9, 2010 in an automobile crash

outside of Nice, CA that also seriously injured her husband, long

time NAFA member and Director-at-Large Greg Thomas, her

daughter, Sarah (Thomas) Noguera, and her grandson, Gabriel

Noguera. She was a member of NAFA and the Indiana Falconers

Association. During her life she achieved a beautiful balance

between faith, family, and falconry.

She was born to Isabelle Messer in Batesville, IN while her

father, Adrian Messer was off ﬁghting in WWII. He was one of

the brave American soldiers storming Omaha Beach on D-Day.

Sandra and her brother, Adrian, Jr. went to school in rural

Milan, IN. When tiny Milan’s high school basketball team won

the 1954 Indiana state basketball tournament, she was at their

victory celebration. This was the team that inspired the famous

sports ﬁlm “Hoosiers”.

Sandra studied for her lifelong teaching career at Indiana

Wesleyan and Butler Universities. Greg and Sandra met at

School 65 in Indianapolis in 1972 when Greg’s sister, Kyle, also a

teacher there, introduced them. Greg offered to bring his hawk

to their classrooms for a talk on the upcoming National Wildlife

Day. That was the beginning of their wonderful and lasting

relationship. Sandra and Greg would have celebrated their 37th

Sandra K.

Thomas

NOVEMBER 1, 1944 - APRIL 9, 2010