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To know Sandy was to know love and caring.

Sandra “Sandy” Lee Bilowus (née Wise), 79, of Oswego, New York, died on September 7, 2026, with her two daughters beside her. Sandy was a nurse, a sister, a mother to those with two legs and four, an aunt, a cousin, a friend and a beloved neighbor in her community. In her last days, she held court from her hospital bed and chair, telling stories and cracking jokes, surrounded by her brothers and sisters, daughters, grandkids, nieces, nephews and friends. Those who couldn’t be there in person joined her by phone and video, and she relished those visits and conversations as well. If you were one of those people, you now have a knock-knock joke you will remember for a lifetime.

Born in Oswego, New York, on January 15, 1947, to Betty (née McMahon) and Harold Wise, Sandy grew up with four sisters and two brothers on California Road. She came into the world with three big sisters already there to love and protect her. At age 8, she assumed one of her favorite roles as big sister when her sister and brother were born, and again at age 11 when her second brother was born. She loved to tell stories of selling strawberries and eggs from the family farm, getting into trouble with her siblings and attending the one-room schoolhouse right across the street. As a teen, she enjoyed drama club, singing and working at Camp Hollis in the summers.

After high school, Sandy earned her nursing degree and spent more than 40 years caring for patients in Syracuse, Oswego and Buffalo, New York. She loved her work and formed special relationships with so many of her patients and their families. On her last ambulance ride, the EMT asked her, “What kind of nurse were you?” and she responded, “A damn good one!”

To know Sandy was to know love and caring. She likely baked you something special on your birthday or for the holidays. You opened a card or a gift and thought, “How does she always find the perfect one?” You received a blanket, an ornament, a hat or a piece of jewelry made by her gifted hands. To know Sandy was to have a big laugh, to be caught off guard by her quick wit and to enjoy playing a game with her. If you knew her when you were a child, nothing made her happier than to get you giggling. She probably told you the story of Herbert the Mountain Lion. She was a pool shark, so if you met her at the table, you learned that her generosity didn’t extend to letting you win. To know Sandy was to know you had someone in your corner no matter what. If you were sick or in need of help, she would be there to dress a wound, dry a tear or make you that meal to nourish you. To know Sandy was to know you were lucky to spend time with a one-of-a-kind woman!

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She likely baked you something special on your birthday or for the holidays.

Sandy is survived by her daughters, Anna Bilowus and Kory Bilowus; Anna’s husband, Josh Hill; Kory’s partner, Craig Cassler; her grandchildren, Madeline, Sophie and Max Hill; and her siblings, Jeanette Kieper and husband Lynn, Carol Rupracht and husband Chet, Harold Wise and wife Susana, and Alfred Wise and wife Deborah, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Joan VanKonynenberg and Betty Jane Wilson, and a number of her beloved fur babies.

A celebration of Sandy’s life will be held in Oswego in 2027. Details will be shared on the Remembering Sandy Bilowus Facebook page. To honor Sandy, consider a donation to the Central New York SPCA (https://www.cnyspca.org) or the gift of your time to help a friend or neighbor in need.

Sandy wanted to make it to her 80th birthday, and her family wanted more time with her, but we all cherish the quality of her life, not the quantity of her years. We love you forever, Mom, Grandma, sister, aunt, cousin, friend and neighbor.