Sandra Lovato Dies in Ohio automobile Accident:
Horsewoman Sandra Sweet Lovato, wife of retired Eclipse Award-winning jockey Frankie Lovato Jr., died yesterday in Norwalk, Ohio from injuries sustained from a car accident. She was 54. Lovato is survived by her husband, whom she married Nov. 23, 1982, Frankie Lovato, Jr., and by her children, Megan (Walter) Hodgkiss, Shawn Lovato, Timothy Lovato and by her granddaughter Allison. She is also survived by her sister Debora Stogner and by her sister-in-law Michelle Sweet. She was preceded in death by her brother, Charles Sweet, and by her sister Janice Stoneham.
Visitation will be held today from 4-7 p.m. at the Walker Funeral Home, 98 West Main St., Norwalk, Ohio. Mass of Christian burial will be tomorrow at 10 a.m. in St. Paul Catholic Church, 91 East Main Street. Sandy Lovato graduated from Norwalk High School in 1978 and moved to New York, where she started her career working with horses at the racetrack and met her future husband, Frankie. She served as PTA president at School District 13 in Valley Stream, New York, where she received numerous service awards for her dedication and time before the family returned to Ohio. She also served as President for the Wooden Horse Corporation, a family-owned company that produces the Equicizer, that she started with Frankie in 2006. A lifelong horse enthusiast, she became a PATH International Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor and in 2009 founded Stampede of Dreams in Norwalk, Ohio. SOD is a 501c3 non-profit program for Equine Assisted Horseback Riding lessons providing therapeutic benefits for children and adults with special needs.
Memorial contributions may be made to Stampede of Dreams TRP, Inc., P.O. Box 679, Norwalk, Ohio, 44857.
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