Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Olgha Sierra Sandman
Global Ministries is saddened to learn of the death of Olgha Sierra Sandman.
Olgha Sierra Sandman, 98, died on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.
Olgha was born in Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico, near Monterrey. Her father was a Mexican Baptist minister and her mother a dedicated layperson fulfilling national roles in Baptist organizations. She was the 10th of 11 children who survived into adulthood.
After working as a teacher in Monterrey, Olgha enrolled in the Baptist Missionary Training School (BMTS) in Chicago. In the summer of 1951, she worked with children in Migrant Ministry, where she met seminary student J. Robert (Bob) Sandman. They married in 1955.
In addition to being a mother of four children, Olgha lived a life of faith and service. She connected with immigrant college students, remembering her own experience as a foreign-born student. She served as the founding Director of the Illinois Farm Worker Ministry from 1974 to 1992 and on the board of directors of the National Farm Workers Ministry since its founding in 1970. She served as Interim President and Director of the National Farm Worker Ministry for a short time period in the late 1990s. Olgha also launched the Illinois Farm Worker Service Center in 1981 and was instrumental in advocating for passage of the Illinois Field Sanitation Law and the legalization of undocumented workers under the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Olgha co-founded the Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project (FLAP) in 1999.
After retirement in 1992, Olgha and husband Bob served in Türkiye for one year as volunteers for Global Ministries (United Church Board for World Ministries), establishing a program in Istanbul for migrants.
Olgha is survived by a son, Bob Sandman, married to Kathy; a daughter, Linda Sandman, married to Rich Wheelock; and a son, Rodney, married to Karin. She had eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Rev. Daniel Sierra Barocio and Luz Ramos Sierra; husband, the Rev. Dr. J. Robert Sandman; son Richard Sandman; grandson Nicholas Sandman; and all 10 siblings.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, April 18th at 11 a.m. at First Congregational UCC, 1047 Curtiss Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515.