Greenfield, MA – Sandra Elizabeth (Channell) Therrien, 90, of Greenfield, MA, died on July 31, 2026 at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. She was born in Springfield, MA on July 3, 1936, the daughter of Henry “Earl” Channell and Edith Mae (Smith) Channell, and was raised on the family farm on River Road in Agawam, MA. At 17, Sandra moved to Springfield and made her way in the career world, eventually becoming a legal secretary, her vocation until her retirement from the Law Offices of Wendell Cardiff in 2001.
Sandra raised three children in the Tathum Hill neighborhood of West Springfield, and shared 50 years of marriage with her husband, Robert “Bob” Therrien, who died in 2019.
Sandy was known for her quick wit, and anyone who sat next to her at family holidays was on the receiving end of her loving little elbow jabs that accompanied the conversations. She loved the Red Sox, listening to them first on the radio as a child and becoming a lifelong fan. She could debate the player lineup and the season’s twists and turns like Jerry Remy. In West Springfield, Sandy and Bob enjoyed their close-knit neighborhood, often hosting friends for late-night breakfast food, made by Bob. Sandy and her husband moved to Greenfield in 2013, where they enjoyed visiting with her son, daughter-in-law, and friends on the front porch, a tradition that continued for Sandy after her husband’s passing. She enjoyed dinners out, her evening glass of wine, Law and Order SVU, and crossword puzzles. In the past several years, she accompanied family on trips to the beaches of New Jersey, North Carolina, and Cape Cod, and spent a couple of winters in Henderson, NV with her daughter. Sandy was tough and also sweet, and was a beacon for her younger friends, many of whom consider her a second Mom, and was often available to visit on the porch, even better if they brought chocolate and wine.
In addition to her husband, Sandra was preceded in death by her mother, Edith, when she was still a young child, father Henry “Earl”, older sister Virginia “Ginny” Channell Cook in 2012, and by her half-sister Marilyn Channell in 2025.
She leaves behind her daughter, Cheryl Maloni and husband Casey, of Henderson, NV and Southampton; her son Marc Therrien and wife Danielle Letourneau, of Greenfield; son Michael Therrien, of Ferndale, WA; two grandchildren, Laura, of Washington State, and Morgan, of Hawaii; brother-in-law Richard Therrien and his wife Elena “Ellie”, of West Springfield; several nieces and nephews, and a lifetime of good friends.
Family and friends are invited to a Memorial Open House for Sandra on Wednesday, August 12, from 10 am to 12 pm, at Smith-Kelleher Funeral Home, 87 Franklin Street, Greenfield, MA. Following cremation, inurnment next to her husband at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery’s columbarium wall will take place privately at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Jimmy Fund.
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