Conswella Sandra Stephenson was born in the same ranch house she now lives in. Having seven other children, all boys, her mother hoped she would finally have the baby girl and all the girlish things that came with one. But growing up with seven brothers on a Wyoming cattle ranch did not lend itself to this. Right from the start Sadie was one of the boys and there was nothing her mother could do about it. Her mother’s influence appeared when Sadie choose to be a doctor as her mother. She graduated as a Pediatric cardiologist from Stanford Medical School, where she met her husband, who was in finance. From there they moved to L.A. where she was on staff at the UCLA Medical Center and was the Head of Pediatrics her final ten years.
As Sadie approached retirement, her mother became ill, and since her father had passed away shortly before, Sadie and her husband moved back to the family ranch. Her last living brother passed away shortly after their mother and Sadie was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Sadie had tough times in her life. She suffered three miss-carriages before giving birth to a daughter. But even this was a difficult birth. She lost several brothers in wars defending the country they all loved. The family suffered a loss in about every military conflict from WWII until Viet Nam. Her daughter and son-in-law died in an accident by a drunk driver leaving their son. It was faith which brought her through these times. But she was always quick to correct anyone who remarked on her strong faith. She didn’t have a strong faith, but faith in a strong God. This brought her through all the sorrows and challenges which came her way. Knowing he was in charge.
At eighty-two, she is not only the matriarch of her family but also of the town it helped to found when her grandparents settled here in the mid-eighteen hundreds. Her health is good for her age, however she’s had to give up driving, at least on the roads. No one was taking her four-wheeler away. She needed it to work the ranch.
Sadie is still very active in her family and community and knows God still has things she needs to do. It’s okay, God’s in charge.
