Lanette Sand

Lanette Ann (Himmelhaver) Sand, 75, passed away Sept. 28, 2022, at a nursing home in Flathead County after a long battle with Parkinson’s and dementia. Lanette was co-owner of Skydive Lost Prairie.

She was born on July 14, 1947, in Great Falls to Lawrence and Marjorie (Villeneuve) Himmelhaver. She lived in Great Falls, until she moved to Kalispell later in life. She was married to Fred Sand, owner and operator of Skydive Lost Prairie; he preceded her in death in June of 2021.

Lanette, known as Lenni, worked for Flathead County in the Plat Room as a land specialist, and later years in the GIS department as a Cadastral specialist until her retirement.

Due to the nature of their business, they were very avid skydivers, including the business operations and skydiving adventures.

Lenni is survived by one son, Scott Darling and Debbie (Hovde) Darling of Great Falls; one granddaughter, Jordan McGraw and Sam McGraw of Las Vegas; one great-grandson, Sawyer Darling, also of Las Vegas; one sister, Linda (Himmelhaver) Grant and Jasper Grant of Missouri; several nieces and nephews and one great-nephew. She also had many, many good and lifelong friendships formed through work and skydiving.

Lanette will be cremated and a memorial service will be held at Lost Prairie in the summer of 2023, with notice to friends and family.

Lanette lived by the motto, as did her husband, “We are not truly dead until we are forgotten. Remember me as long as you can. Don’t put me in the ground. My life has been in the sky.”

Suggested donations may be sent to any nonprofit animal rescue groups of your choice in Kalispell or surrounding areas, in memory of Lenni’s love for her dog Emmy.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Lanette Sand, please visit our floral store.