Sandra Nugent Criner of Houston, Texas, passed away at her home on the morning of October 6, 2024, at the age of 87 due to natural causes, surrounded by her loving family. 

She began playing the piano at four years old and continued through her life. She was called to the Catholic Church as a child and attended catechism classes in secret until the church needed her mother’s approval for Baptism, at which point her mother also converted. She graduated from The Academy of the Holy Cross, a Catholic high school in Washington, DC, in 1955. Sandra attended Howard University and graduated with a BA in music. She received a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship to attend The Eastman School of Music and earned her master’s in Musicology. 

Sandra had many careers over the years, including being a type-setter at the Oakland Tribune, an executive assistant at Tenneco, and a paralegal for the law office of John Burchfield.

Sandra was initiated into the Houston Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. in 1982 after she moved from California to Texas.

Sandra’s love of music and other art forms was well-known among her friends. She was an amazing seamstress, weaver, knitter, and quilter. Sandra was a devout catholic and has been a member of St. Theresa Catholic Church since 1984. She was a long-standing member of the choir and loved her time volunteering with the RCIA program. She was a valued member of Theresians International, Women at the Well, a Teresian community in Texas. 

Sandra was an animal lover and especially loved cats. She was a proud cat lady.

Sandra was preceded in death by her son, Oscar H. Criner IV (1962 – 2020), and leaves behind a loving husband, Oscar H. Criner III, daughters Sandra Lynn Criner, Elissa Criner Turner, sons-in-law Klaus M. Oestreich and Evan D. Turner, and four grandchildren, Alys Kelly Turner, Ian Porter Turner, Enna Zenobia Turner, and Rhys Marshall Oestreich.