Obituary of Sondra "Sondi" Poffenberger

Sondra “Sondi” Poffenberger, 82, of Parker, CO entered into Eternal Life on June 7, 2023.  Wife of Larry Poffenberger, Mother of Dennis (Joilen) Poffenberger, Dan (Laura) Poffenberger, Tami Catron, Jayne (Robert) Good, Shelli (Tony) Mango and Jim Poffenberger.  Grandma and Grammy of Stephanie, Nathan, Dylan, Damon, Shelby, Derik, Malachi, Camden and Alex.  Sister in law of Mary Chatfield and Betty (Jim) Abbott.

Sondra Jeanne Rouze, better known as Sondi, was born in Algona, Iowa and grew up in Ames, Iowa.

The daughter of Bee & Lloyd Rouze, Sondi was an Ames High School graduate and made many great friends/classmates that she has continued to keep in touch with all these years. In fact, several of her classmates have continued to share remarkable “girls’ trips” with Sondi as recently as in the past 10 years in Winter Park, Colorado.

Sondi married her high school sweetheart and life took her to Omaha, Nebraska and they had two daughters. Sondi touched many lives in Omaha and developed lifelong friendships. Moving back to Ames Iowa with 2 young daughters as a single woman demonstrated the strength and courage Sondi always possessed.

After several years of just the girls and her, Sondi met the love of her life. Larry and Sondi instantly connected when Larry came to fix carpet in her townhome. Then came the merging of a “Brady Bunch” like family. On November 6, 1976, Larry and Sondi married each other and their 3 boys and 3 girls together. The entire family stood up and shared their vows for a lifetime of love and family.

Her career in insurance flourished and then she took a leap into a new industry by running the Comfort Inn/Heartland Inn Motel for 5 years. No surprise here if you knew Sondi, she was heavily involved in the Ames Chamber of Commerce and Convention Visitor’s Bureau and was served an outstanding hospitality award in business.

Years and years of music, stories, laughter, love, and family were a part of her story from there on. Work eventually took them to Omaha, Nebraska for 9 years and then semi-retirement brought them to Parker, Colorado, 17 years ago.

As we know Sondi and Larry, neither one of them could fully retire as they loved to work and be a part of life and the communities they lived in. Sondi worked in the Insurance Industry as well as the property management world and of course, having such a great eye for fashion, also worked in a couple of local clothing stores. Unapologetically, she did that for the employee discount, of course!

Everywhere Sondi has gone in her life, she makes friends, demonstrates class, love and acceptance to all she shares her heart with. She made many friends through the Parker Chamber of Commerce as well as her varying jobs. Many thought of Sondi as “their best friend.” She shared her friendship with so many and was always loving and kind with no judgment. Most importantly, she was Larry’s and her daughter’s “best friend”. Larry and Sondi have had such a special marriage filled with a continual “variety act” of characters that they would entertain the world. Sondi was always known as the “fun” grandma to her grandchildren. She had a great love for cooking and spending time with her family and those she loved.

Over the past several years, Sondi developed quite a few health conditions, but always fought tooth and nail to overcome them. Ultimately, on June 7th, she lost that battle. Her last parting words were “I love you” to one of her daughters. Through it all, she was an inspiration to many around her and showed them what was like to live life, share her sense of humor, and spread her love.

Sondi will be missed by many and will be looking over us all with a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face.

Celebration of Life will be held on August 26th, 2023 from 2:00 pm-5:00 pm at the Deep Space Event Center in Parker.  Their address is 11020 S Pikes Peak Dr, Ste 50, Parker, CO 80138