Obituaries : Sandra (Sandy) McGrath

Sandra (Sandy) McGrath was born a beautiful, eastern Iowan hard worker as Sandra Lee Etten on July 28, 1949, at John McDonald Hospital in Monticello, Iowa. The daughter of Marvin and Betty (Brignac) Etten.

Soon after Sandy's arrival Marv and Betty began building a new house in Fairfax, Iowa. As a new family, they lived in the basement of the house as it was built above and around them. Sisters and brothers began arriving.

Sandy spent an unforgettable childhood in Fairfax with her siblings. They electrocuted themselves by sneaking through the electric fence in their backyard in an effort to splash about and swim in Prairie Creek. They soon learned to swim in the nearby quarry, now known as Twin Oaks Lake, a less painful endeavor. The children would come home covered in tar and paint as the quarry was a well-known dumping site at the time.

The Etten family soon grew too big for the Fairfax home around the time that Sandy turned 10 years old. The Etten family purchased a farm and built a home outside Shellsburg, Iowa. Little Sandra Lee spent the rest of her adolescent life helping to raise and care for her seven younger siblings. She gardened and canned with her mother as well.

Graduating from Shellsburg High School in 1967 she promptly hit the road for Phoenix, Arizona with her best friends a pregnant Pam and her other bestie LuAnne riding in her late-60's Corvair to work at Motorola, Inc. Sandy lived in Phoenix long enough to see Pam and her new child settled.

Sandy then headed back to Cedar Rapids in that same Corvair, just to see about a man she had met cruising down 1st Avenue before she had left, he worked at Al's Full Service on Johnson Ave. Sandi found employment at the Turner Microphone Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, assembling Iowa's historic microphones right away.

Sandy was united in marriage to Bob Caffrey, they separated in 1992. Blessed with two boys, Tyson and Andy, Sandy devoted her life to her children's upbringing. She ensured nothing less than pure happiness and an understanding of unconditional love.

Early in her adult life Sandy was a successful young entrepreneur who in 1984 started, owned, and operated Video Biz! in Northeast Cedar Rapids for many years. It was the first movie rental/video store in northeast Cedar Rapids.

Sandy met the love of her life, Mitch McGrath in 1994. The two met on the job at Cryovac Sealed Air Corp. in Cedar Rapids. They drove to work together every day for 23 years until Cryovac closed the doors in 2009. She was one of the most respected employees and loved her career.

Beginning a true romance, they spent their courtship traveling to epic car shows across the U.S.A. in Mitch's fully restored 1969 427 SOHC Candy Brandy Wine Ford Pro Stock Pickup. They knew they were destined to be together and immediately started looking for 10 acres of Amana woodland to build their dream house. They were united in marriage on September 16, 2000, at their new home in rural Amana.

Determined to live off the land, they succeeded where so many fail. Their love was rivaled by none, sharing a worship for the outdoors and animals, at one time gathering this rare purity for a new edition, Cammer, a magnificent Belgian draft horse. They trained the horse to pull trees out of the forest, across their land, and up to their beautiful new house to be split into firewood for heating their home.

Later in life, Sandy earned a degree in Medical Coding from Kirkwood Community College. She also worked at Frontier Herbs, Williamsburg Manufacturing and Mercy Hospital in the Coding Department.

She adored dancing and savored music, instilling that passion in her children. Sandy enjoyed the hardworking art of tapping maple trees and making homemade maple syrup from their land. Sandy cherished ginseng and fossil hunting, looking for arrowheads, excavating native American artifacts, and anything that involved being outside with her soulmate, Mitch.

Sandy's true pride and joy was spending time with and showering her grandson Luca Caffrey with love. She taught him how to hunt for wild ginseng, arrowheads, native American fossils, and to prepare family homestyle meals. Sandy and Mitch instilled a sense of self-respect and confidence in Luca. That can only be described as a rare and unique gift in this day and age.

Sandy passed away at home Friday, May 16, 2025, inside her home in rural Amana at the age of 75 years old. She knew in her heart there was peace to come in the afterlife. Sandy McGrath believed that love was undeniable proof of one's soul and she had more love to give than can possibly be imagined. Unless, one was fortunate enough to receive hers.

Sandy is survived by her husband Mitch; two sons; Tyson (Bria Postley) Caffrey of Fairfax and Andy Caffrey of Fairfax; grandson, Luca Caffrey; five siblings, Steve (Jean) Etten of Covington, Scott (Ginger) Etten of Luzerne, Shirley (Randy) Peacock of Peachtree, Georgia, Henry Etten of Peachtree, Georgia, Shari Etten of Shellsburg; sister-in-law Lisa Etten of Shellsburg and brother-in-law Roger Goehring of Urbana. She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Spencer Etten and sister Susie Geohring.

Visitation will be held from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Powell Funeral Home in Marengo. There will be a private family burial in the Koszta Cemetery. A general memorial fund has been established. Powell Funeral Home in Marengo is caring for Sandy and her family. Messages and tributes may be left at www.powellfuneralhomes.com.