Obituaries

Novell-Lay, Sondra Marie was born on October 19, 1936, to Kenneth and Thelma (Snyder) Novell and died after a struggle with Alzheimer’s on March 4, 2024.

She leaves to celebrate her life and honor her memory.

Her children: Richard (Tracy) Lay, Rachelle (Joe) Mayer, Randall (Jennifer) Lay

Her grandchildren: Eric (Erica), Ryan (Amanda), Andrea (Sam), Jerrod (Meghan), Claire, Lilly, also the late Evan Lay and Nathan Mayer.

Her great-grandchildren: Elisa, Mia, Watson, Chloe, Carson, and Eliot.

Her Novell cousins and many special friends.

Sondra was a graduate of Buder Elementary School and Roosevelt High School.

She served for many years as the secretary/treasurer for merchant associations, including Warson Village, Town and Country, and Westport Plaza.

She followed that with a long career at Commerce Bank in the corporate office in Clayton, MO.

She was very active from birth until the late 1970s at Lafayette Park Baptist Church, part of 4 generations of her family that were members starting in 1911.

Sondra then went to Third Baptist Church faithfully for the next 40-plus years of her life. She was a dedicated Sunday School teacher at both churches.

She enjoyed going out to movies and live theater, a good book, traveling, and her weekly hair appointment on Friday.

Sondra was a strong, opinionated woman, who truly had a wonderful life.

Memorial Service Sunday, March 24, 2024 – 12:15 p.m. at Third Baptist Church on Grand and Washington. Private burial at Wildwood Valley Gardens in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

Instead of flowers, donations in memory of Sondra may be sent to support Juvenile Diabetes Research (JDRF) and Third Baptist Church.