Joseph W. Sandoval

May 16, 1961 ~ March 27, 2025

Joseph W. Sandoval, 63, Brandon, passed away on Thursday, March 27, 2025, surrounded by his family.

A Celebration of Life for Joe will be held on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. at Heartland Funeral Home, Brandon, SD. If we are blessed with your presence at Joe’s Celebration of Life, and in honor of Joe’s love for music, please dress in music/band attire – ‘no country music references allowed’. In lieu of flowers, please take an opportunity to spend time in the dirt or invest in your local seed bank or a community garden. Spend a day listening to music of the classic rock genre and think of how Joe would be sitting next to you, playing the air guitar. Donations can also be directed to the Brandon Food Pantry at 406 Main, PO Box 712, Brandon, SD, 57005, 605-582-7001, as they will miss the produce that Joe so willingly shared with them for many years.

You may view the service via livestream by clicking HERE.

Joseph “Joe” W. Sandoval was born to Joseph M.A. Sandoval and Gail (Gerry) Sandoval in Sioux Falls, SD on May 16, 1961.  Joe spent his early childhood years in the Sioux Falls, SD and Salem, SD areas before their family moved to Evansville, IN.  Joe lived in Indiana until graduating from high school and then decided it was time to ‘come back home’ to South Dakota.  Upon arrival in South Dakota, Joe wished to follow in his parent’s footsteps and attempted to join the Navy.  Much to his dismay, the Navy declined his admission, as well as every other branch of the military he contacted.  Since there were no active conflicts at that time, each branch of the service told him the same thing, “He was too tall and everything would have to be specially made for him”; and so, his military vision came to an end.

For anyone that knows Joe, knows that music was a deep passion of his.  If a song was playing, he would instantly ask, ‘who is this?’  Before you even knew it, your knowledge of music was being tested and a lesson in music would soon follow. Joe’s response would always be the name of the artist, the album in which the song was released, which side of the album the song played on, the numbered order on the album, the year it was released and any/all other information pertinent to the band/band members that had occurred since inception.  Joe and Louise enjoyed attending concerts and there were many long weekends traveling to see those concerts.

Gardening was also one of Joe’s deepest joys and he spent as much time as he could in the garden each year at the acreage of dear friends, Harvey and Teresa Freeman, who made his gardening dream come true for many years.  Joe was always so grateful to them and their generosity and considered them as a brother/sister.  Each year the garden was going to be “downsized” only to find out when everything was planted, it was bigger than the year before.  Gardening was Joe’s therapy and it was a normal day for Joe to spend 10-12 hours playing in the dirt, being in the bright sunshine with his music blasting.  When the day was over, he was always ready the next morning to do it all again.

Joe’s gardening was a neighborhood effort.  He collected everyone’s grass clippings in the summer and leaves in the fall as mulch for his garden. In return for taking away their yard waste, the neighbors were “required” to share in Joe’s bountiful harvest in the fall.  Many tried to pay Joe for his produce, but he refused saying, “I love to do this, and I don’t want it going to waste.”  By the end of the growing season, the neighbors had their fill of veggies for the year, and Joe then gave generously to the food pantry in town and supplied a local restaurant with many pounds of produce each fall.  If you lived nearby or walked past Joe’s house in the fall, you would often smell onions dehydrating in the garage, or the scent of salsa and tomatoes in the air as that was Joe’s busy canning season. When gardening was done in the fall and the canning finished for the year, it was time to start plotting next year’s garden and would start the next season’s seeds after the first of the year. There was never an idle moment when it came to gardening.  Joe enjoyed planting something new each year; there were very few vegetables that Joe didn’t try to grow.  He spent many hours watching videos and learning new/different ways of gardening. Many Sunday afternoons in the fall were spent watching football, cleaning black beans, and making salsa.  The last few years, Joe also made pasta sauce for his grandkids, which they proudly labeled “Papa’s Pasta Sauce”.

Joe worked in the trucking industry numerous years throughout his career and was actively involved in the South Dakota Trucking Association.  Joe took great pride in being part of that organization and was most recently awarded a Lifetime Achievement award from the SDTA.  Joe was also awarded Safety Director of the Year in 2009.  Joe retired in February 2024 and was able to spend the better part of last year dedicated to his garden.

To know Joe, was to love him – he has always been a gentle giant, willing to help out anyone in need and listen when you needed an ear.  We are all better for the impact he has had on our lives and it will be difficult trying to carry on without him.  Joe’s family, his children and grandchildren were his pride and joy.  Any day that he could talk to or see any one of them, made his day and put a smile on his face. 

To cherish his life and the many years of memories, Joe leaves behind his wife, Louise (Rostyne) Sandoval; daughter, Alison (Van) Lane, Omaha, NE; son, Joseph N. Sandoval, Sioux Falls, SD; grandchildren Madison Lane and Jett Lane; sisters, Rebecca Sandoval, Medford OR, and Terry (Tony) Winkler, Evansville, IN; brother, Tom Sandoval, New Harmony, IN; aunts, Carol Wilcox, Sioux Falls, SD, and Harriett (Ken) Kutter, Sioux Falls, SD; special friends, Harvey and Teresa Freeman; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph M.A. Sandoval and Gail Sandoval; a sister, Patty Sandoval; both sets of grandparents; and special friend, Bernice Christopherson. Thank you to so many that have helped us through this trying time in our lives.  We truly have been very blessed with so many friends and family surrounding us with love and stories of Joe’s life. Joe’s wishes for his final resting place include his beloved garden that he cared for and loved for so many years, and one of his favorite hunting areas – Thunder Creek Pheasant Ranch in western South Dakota.

Share this post: