Sandra Eileen Fliniau

“When is the Pig Family leaving?” was the exclamation from the exasperated maid at the now
defunct Holidome on west Colfax. We, the so-called Pig Family – the females of the Lepponen
clan (plus one) – enjoyed a yearly ladies trip to the metropolis of Denver. The name stuck. Sadly,
“Pilot Pig,” aka Sandy Fliniau, escaped the Pig Family pen under the bright light of a full moon
on Saturday, May 30, 2026. Once in a Blue Moon, you lose a good one.
Sandy was born to Peter Hans and Eileen (Jones) Lepponen on May 6, 1939, in Dixon
Wyoming. Pete moved the family to the greener pastures of North Park in 1941 for a job as a tie
inspector and prison camp manager, later a teacher and superintendent of then Jackson County
High School. The family settled into a tiny house on Garfield Street in Walden. Sandy’s sister,
Linda, was born in January 1946. Eileen became the Jackson County librarian in 1961 and
served until 1985.
Sandy was an energetic, outgoing child who exhibited her myriad talents early in life, also
earning her nickname “Gabby.” She graduated from Jackson County High School in 1957, the
same year marrying her high school sweetheart, T. Charles Fliniau. Their lives were blessed with
a son, Kyle, in 1958. Much to Kyle’s chagrin, Holly came along in 1961.
It seemed Sandy was always working, first mowing lawns then a soda jerk at Mankin’s. At just
19, she cooked for the hay crew at the Fliniau ranch. Later she was employed as a switchboard
operator for Mt. Bell. “Number please!” When the kids were old enough for school, Sandy
became the secretary and librarian at Walden Elementary School.
It’s near impossible to capture Sandy’s exceptional abilities in a few short paragraphs, but here
goes.
Painting: Sandy was a painter, not of fine art, mind you, but of bigger bolder pieces such as her
parents’ brand-new car when, as a child, she surprised them by painting it bright blue. She
painted walls - racing stripes in Kyle’s bedroom and fluorescent pink happy faces in Holly’s. She
covered corrugated metal and old screens with her signature pansies and zinnias.
Gardening: A different form of painting emerged when Sandy, a self-taught gardener,
transformed her own home and the homes of many others, including the main house at Owl
Creek ranch, into living floral masterpieces. What started as a hobby of raising seedlings in her
basement became a flourishing business “Flowers by Sandy.” Over the years her garden and the
gardens she created were featured in magazines such as “This Old House,” “Backyard Bird
Watchers Home Companion,” and “Colorado Country Life.” She and Charlie devoted hundreds
of hours to beautifying Hanson Park in Walden. She planted what is now the 30-foot pine in the
pocket park north of the bank. She became a certified Colorado nurseryman in 1998 and a
Colorado master gardener in 2003.
Cooking, Sewing and Crafts: You name it, Sandy could make it – donuts, cinnamon rolls, pies,
caramel corn, and, according to her friend Helen, “the best lemon meringue pie on the planet,”
which she made for Helen’s birthday every year. She mastered the craft of cooking spuds and
whole turkeys in the coals of a campfire. She made prom and wedding dresses, denim and down
jackets, Halloween costumes, stuffed animals, candles, floral displays, floats for the rodeo
parade, and props for her beloved Front Porch Swingers. True or not, she claimed she was asked
to stop entering her crafts at the North Park Fair to give others a chance at the blue ribbon.
Writing: Sandy’s prose was beautiful and humorous. Many of you reading this were likely gifted
a heartfelt note or text, just when you most needed it. She shared her knowledge of gardening in
“All the Dirt,” a periodic piece in the Jackson County Star.
Lover of Animals: As her children grew, Sandy tended a menagerie of creatures – dogs, cats,
turtles, frogs, horned toads, lizards, hamsters, canaries, aquarium fish, etc. During Jackson
County’s coal mining heyday, she famously climbed to the top of the coal tipple where, under
the watchful eye of the mamma owl, she would remove the baby owls from their nest, “store”
them in a box in her shower (so the cats couldn’t reach them), and return them to the nest once
the daily load of coal had been dumped into the Union Pacific rail cars. Sandy’s garden was
designated a Backyard Wildlife Habitat in 1984. Every year, word of the arrival of Rosy finches
spread on the internet and birders from all corners flocked to her sunroom to photograph them.
Bird seed was one thing that Sandy didn’t mind spending big money on.
Friend: Sandy was everyone’s best friend. So many, young and old, old friend and new friend,
held a special place in her heart – the ladies (and one guy) of the Front Porch Swingers, her
Friday morning coffee klatch, the North Park Women’s Club, her travel and trash-picker-upper
companion Chrissie, her other daughters Deb and Suze, those that crossed the threshold of
Kyle’s house and the Man Camp, and on and on. Without being named, you know who you are –
soul mates each of you.
Sandy is preceded in death by her parents Peter and Eileen, her husband Charlie, and her son
Kyle. Sandy is survived by her daughter Holly and partner Frank Schmitz; her sister Linda (Bob)
Littlewood; Linda’s daughter Tia (Todd) Tenbrink; Tia’s children Raquel and Cole; and three
dear cats Hope, Camo, and Gus. A celebration of Sandy’s life will be held at Kyle’s house (445
Garfield Street in Walden) on Saturday, August 1, at 11:00. Come prepared to sing along with
the Front Porch Swingers and share carrot cake and your favorite memories. If so compelled,
please donate to the charity of your choice or one of Sandy’s favorite organizations the North
Park Medical Clinic or the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.