Sondra Lee Aldegarie

Sondra Lee Aldegarie, 82, of Missoula, passed away on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at St Patrick Hospital after a brief battle with encephalitis.

She was born on December 4, 1940, in Potlatch, Idaho, to Roy and Leona Johnson. As a young girl, she lived on a small farm outside Garfield, Washington, later moving into town. She didn’t miss the farm, the geese that once attacked her, or getting stuck in the mud on the walk home from the school bus. She attended grade school and high school in Garfield.

She graduated from Washington State University with a degree in medical technology. After college, wanting to see more of the world, she moved to Pasadena, California, where she worked as a hematologist at Huntington Memorial Hospital. It was there that she met Joseph Aldegarie, her future husband. The couple married on October 21, 1967. They lived on a shady, hilly street in Pasadena until 1975 when they moved with their two children to Missoula, Montana.

In Missoula, the couple had a third child. After the kids were all in school, Sondra began working as a clerk at the Book Exchange, where she remained for over 20 years.

She enjoyed gardening, sewing, ceramics, and reading. She was active in Martha’s Ministry at Christ the King Church and got together with a regular “lunch bunch”. After Joe retired, the couple bought a fifth-wheel and often traveled in the summers to see family in Washington and Michigan.

Survivors include her husband, Joseph, Missoula; three daughters Julie Aldegarie, Jody Aldegarie, and Carla Aldegarie, all of Missoula; sister, Nancy Hathaway, Garfield, WA; brother, Edgar Johnson, Garfield, WA; brother Royce Johnson, Farmington, WA; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held for Sondra on Friday, November 3, at 1 pm at Garden City Funeral Home at 1705 West Broadway, Missoula. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a donation be made in Sondra’s name to a charity of the donor’s choice.