Sandra Jackson McCartney

On March 1, 2021, Sandra Jackson McCartney died peacefully from Alzheimer’s Disease. Born in 1939 in West Orange, New Jersey, to Jeanne and Nelson Jackson, Sandy, as she was known, loved music. She played the French horn in her youth, and throughout her life enjoyed Broadway shows, Christmas carols, and opera. She attended Wellesley College, where she studied political science, and while there, met her first husband, Rod Nash, whose career as professor of history and Environmental Studies, she supported through her fast typing and editing skills. In 1966, they moved with their two children to Santa Barbara, where Sandy lived until her death. A member of All-Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church for 55 years, she served the church in many capacities, finding great joy in her work as a Lay Eucharistic Minister. She was also a member of the Junior League, serving a term as president, and was on the board of many different organizations, including The Little Cottage and Planned Parenthood. Beginning in 1975, Sandy began a career as a travel agent, first in an agency and later by establishing her own company. An avid traveler herself, Sandy helped clients plan exotic trips, solve tricky travel problems, and introduced people to the joys of learning about other peoples and cultures all over the world. She traveled extensively and had been to every state in the United States, to every continent save Antarctica, and to corners of the globe many people never get to see. She would pick up and go anywhere at the drop of the hat, and particularly loved hopping along ports of the Baltic Sea en route to St. Petersburg, exploring the countries in Central Africa, and taking her mother to visit China, fulfilling a long-held dream of her mother. In 2003, she married Douglas McCartney, an old friend, and she continued her globe-hopping ways with Doug by her side. Sandy and Doug always completed The New York Times crossword puzzle, enjoyed their church community, the Santa Barbara Farmers Market, the symphony, good books, and walks to the pier. She is survived by her husband, Douglas McCartney, her daughters Laura Nash and Jennie Nash Robertson, and her grandchildren, Caroline Nash, Hannah Caldwell, Carlyn Robertson, and Emily Robertson and is fondly remembered by her son-in-law, Rob Robertson, her grandsons-in-law, Mike Dwyer and Tommy Fredrick, and her first husband Rod Nash. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Santa Barbara Symphony.