In memoriam: Sandra Burlingame was editor, jazz aficionado

Sandra Gast Burlingame died April 12  in Portland, Ore. She was born Feb. 25, 1937, and she and her sister Teddy were raised and mothered by their beloved nanny Margaret Renken. Sandy graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where she was a member of Mortar Board, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and represented the school as Miss O.U. in 1957. She received her master’s degree in English literature from the University of Rhode Island in 1961.

In Bartlesville, Okla., she worked with a group to establish the Washington County SPCA and opened the Talisman Art Gallery with Jody Kirberger. In 1969, she moved to New York City, later settling on Glen Wild Lake in Bloomingdale, N.J., where she joined the Lake’s governing board and constructed crossword puzzles, one of which was published in the New York Times Sunday Magazine.

In 1982, she moved to the Pacific Northwest, first living on Orcas Island, Wash., before settling in Seattle in 1985. A lifelong interest in jazz led her to join the newly formed board of the nonprofit organization Earshot, where she edited the newsletter. She also published and edited 5/4 Magazine, contributed interviews to Paul de Barros’ book, “Jackson Street After Hours,” and edited books by singer Jay Clayton and pianist Randy Halberstadt. She worked for and traveled with jazz singer Ernestine Anderson. She discovered a passion for quilting and spent the next 25 years making quilts for family, friends and nonprofit organizations.

She moved to Portland, Ore., in 1997, where she served as editor of the website Jazz Standards until retiring.

Sandra left a bequest to FFRF, and her son Jason Burlingame writes: “My mother was inspired by your work during her lifetime and wore her FFRF pins on all of her hats and often gave them as gifts. She greatly enjoyed telling people about FFRF. I am sending this gift with immense gratitude for your work.”