Sandra (Sandy) Joan (Tilton) Bowler

Sandra Joan (Tilton) Bowler, better known as Sandy, was born on February 23, 1953, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. She was the daughter of George Tilton and Arlene Riggs. Raised in the Detroit suburbs, she moved to Southern California at the age of 21 after a particularly harsh Midwestern winter. She settled in Redondo Beach, CA, where she met and married the love of her life, Robert Bowler, and they raised their two children, Matthew and Emily, in Northern California. Sandy’s true passions in life were her friends and family and doing her part to make the world a more accepting place. After retiring from the City of Novato where she worked as a word processor and ran their youth theatre programs, she focused much of her energy on supporting causes she so heartedly believed in – chief among them being arts programs for children, LGBTQIA+ rights, and animal rescue organizations. Sandy was a friend to all – a fun-loving, extremely generous, and sassy woman whose charisma and enthusiasm softened the hardest of hearts. A mother figure to all her children’s friends, a lover of nature, travelling, Skinny Girl margaritas, and with a soft spot for reality TV, Sandy was a character, and loved nothing more than to spoil all those she loved with a thoughtful gift or an over-the-top party. Her beloved cabin on the Van Duzen river in Humboldt County will forever be a place where her friends and family will gather to remember her incredible spirit.

Sandy passed away at home on December 12, 2023, surrounded by her husband, daughter, and two sisters, after a three-year battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband Robert (Bob) Bowler, daughter Emily Bowler, sisters Lisa Caloia, Michele (Miguel) Gomez, and Jill (Frank) Silverman, nephew Shaun Doty, and niece Erin Silverman, along with many cherished friends. Sandy was preceded in death by her parents, George and Arlene (Riggs) Tilton, and her son, Matthew Trombetta. A Celebration of Sandy’s life will be held in February, on her 71st birthday. In lieu of flowers, her family is asking that donations in her honor be made to Hospice of Petaluma for their incredibly thoughtful role in the last month of her life and their ongoing work in our community. As Sandy would say, ‘And that’s that!’