Sandra Mihelich

Sandy was born Oct. 2, 1942, in Laurium, to Gabe and Elvie Oja. Sandy attended Calumet High School and later earned her GED in 1979, the same year her oldest son graduated from high school.

She married Dan Mihelich in 1960, and they raised four boys together in the Copper Country until they divorced in 1974. Sandy was primarily a stay-at-home mom, but occasionally worked at her father’s grocery store.

As a child she loved the outdoors, spending much of her time swimming, fishing, and boating on Lac La Belle and Bete Grise Bay.

When her boys were young, she found joy watching them play ice hockey, and she loved pets of all kinds. She enjoyed finding and collecting antique bottles from various sites around Calumet. She loved country music, especially the music of Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, George Jones, and Conway Twitty, and periodically attended live shows at the Calumet Theater. In her later years, she grew to appreciate and share local history, especially the folklore of the small mining and logging towns in the Keweenaw. Sandy was especially proud of her granddaughters, who are both professionals in the medical field.

Sandy had a witty and usually dry sense of humor, which she would unload unsuspectingly on her care team.

Sandy is preceded in death by her parents, Gabe and Elvie Oja; her son, Scott; her daughter-in-law, Cindy Mihelich; and her ex-husband, Dan.

Sandy is survived by her children, Michael Mihelich, DePere, Kevin (Cheryl) Mihelich, Laurium, and Brian Mihelich, Henderson, Nevada; grandchildren, Mallory (Tom) Nachtwey, DePere, and Brook (Logan) Jungbacker, Oshkosh, Wisconsin; and her sister, Lorene (Bea) Wynn of Kenosha, Wisconsin; as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home in Calumet on Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.

The family would like to give special thanks to the caregivers at the Rennes Health and Rehab Center and the Unity Hospice Team in DePere for their loving care of Sandy.

Memorials will be directed to the Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw (CLK) Youth Hockey Program.

Erickson-Crowley-Peterson is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences for the family can be left at www.ericksoncrowleypeterson.com.