Sandra “Sandy” McCloskey
08/31/1956 - 8/19/2026
Sandra “Sandy” McCloskey, 69, of Indianapolis, was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on August 19, 2026.
Sandy loved Jesus with a passion, and that love shaped every part of her life. She devoted her life to serving Him and serving His people. Her faith was not simply something she believed; it was something she lived. She loved people deeply, cared for them faithfully, and spent her life pointing others toward the God she loved so much.
Sandy was born to John and Wilma Thrasher in Terre Haute, Indiana, and grew up alongside her siblings, Chuck and Cindy. Raised in a pastor’s home, Sandy answered her own call to ministry as a young woman. She graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1984 and devoted the decades that followed to serving the Church and loving God’s people. At the time of her passing, Sandy was serving at Even If Church in Indianapolis. Remarkably, she had served the same congregation, in the same building, for 34 years. Through seasons of change, joy, hardship, and growth, Sandy remained faithful to the people God had called her to love.
Sandy was a devoted wife and mother. She was married to her husband, George, for 43 years, and together they had three children, Bethany, Ashleigh, and Matt. But the McCloskey family rarely stopped at five. Sandy believed there was always room for at least one more. Throughout the years, she opened her home and her heart to anyone who needed love, a place to belong, or simply a family to call their own. Many came through the doors of the McCloskey home as friends and left knowing they were family.
Of all the things that could be said about Sandy, perhaps the most important is simply this: she loved Jesus. She gave her life to Him, trusted Him, served Him, and wanted everyone around her to know His love too. Her family grieves deeply because she was deeply loved, but they do not grieve without hope. The Jesus Sandy spent her life loving is the Jesus she is with now, and because of Him, Scripture gives us the assurance that this goodbye is not forever.
Condolences (12)
Greg McGarvey
What a blessing Sandra has always been. She blessed my life so richly in our connections in the old New Albany District. And through our commitment to Jesus, she was always leading the way. I am so grateful for her and I am praying for you in your loss!
Jill Hannum Moraga
I have so many memories of Sandy and her family as we grew up together in our elementary school days. Even though life moved us to different parts of the state, we still reconnected at Illiana. Good times and good memories.
Jonathan Maurer
I had the incredible privilege of serving alongside Sandy and George for 15 years at Glenns Valley Church (now Even If Church).
When I first began serving with them, I was a young 27-year-old with far more to learn than I even realized. Sandy had an amazing way of seeing potential in me that I couldn’t yet see in myself. She mentored me without ever making me feel inferior or less than. She poured far more into me than I ever could have poured into her, yet somehow she always treated me as an equal.
That was one of Sandy’s great gifts.
The Lord gave her an extraordinary capacity to see things in your life, your personality, your character, and your walk with Jesus long before you could see them in yourself. And you always knew her motivation: she wanted to lovingly point you toward a deeper, more intimate relationship with Jesus.
Even when Sandy corrected you, you never walked away feeling condemned. You walked away knowing you were loved.
Sandy did not have an incredible voice, but she loved to boisterously sing praises to her Savior.
Sandy was not an eloquent orator, but she loved to tell you who Jesus is and how He can transform your life.
Sandy was not a gifted administrator, but she made sure every important detail was covered if it meant removing a barrier that might keep someone from encountering the Lord.
Sandy was not a highly energetic person, but she worked tirelessly to make sure people were cared for.
Sandy was not a scholar, but she knew the Bible—and she knew how to live it.
And perhaps that is what made her life so extraordinary. Sandy never needed to be the most talented person in the room. She simply offered everything she had to Jesus and allowed Him to use it.
When you were in a conversation with Sandy, you felt like you were the most important person in her life at that moment. She was fully present. She listened. She cared.
When you prayed with Sandy, you somehow felt closer to Jesus—because she walked close to Jesus.
When you listened to Sandy, you knew she was speaking words of life—because she knew the Author of Life.
I am so deeply sad that she is gone. But her absence also leaves those of us who remain with something to do.
Her work is finished. God has called her home. But THE work—the Kingdom work of Jesus—is not finished.
She left big shoes to fill.
She left a legacy to follow.
She left a family to love.
And she left hundreds of people whose lives are different because she chose, day after day, to faithfully love Jesus and faithfully love the people He placed in front of her.
My number one goal in life is to become more like Jesus.
But I have to believe that trying to become a little more like Sandy will get me a whole lot closer to that goal.
Thank you, Sandy.
I am forever grateful that God allowed my life to intersect with yours.
Samuel Padgett
Sandy was a part of the team that held a revival at my home church when I was 7. During that revival, I went forward and gave my life completely to Jesus. I will never forget that service to God’s Kingdom that played a pivotal role in my faith journey.
Ro Lian Thang
I met Pastor Sandy in the late 2024. Since then, we have been sharing the church’s building together. Her kindness, hospitality, and generosity had been unforgettable to me, my family, and congregations.
She had a heart for mission and love people no matter what the color skin looks like or what situation they are in. She was very humbled pastor.
She always encouraged me to stay strong in the ministry and asked me if there is anything else, I need from her or from the church.
Above all, her smiling face is always in my heart. I am grateful that I happened to meet Pastor Sandy in my life.
Deepest Condolences and Sympathies to the family.