Sandra Jean Pierce Garcia was born February 17, 1947, in Takoma Park, Maryland, to Cecille Maxine (nee Ellis) and Lester Charles Pierce. She passed away January 24, 2024, at the age of 76.

At a young age, she went to live with her maternal grandparents and, later, her Aunt Erma Jane and the Cook family in Battle Creek, Michigan, living with them for several years. She graduated from Battle Creek Academy in 1965. She attended Andrews University, then transferred to La Sierra College in Southern California to pursue her Registered Nursing degree. She worked for several years as a nurse in the heart catheterization lab at the Veterans' hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She married John Garcia on July 4, 1993. In 2000, she moved to California to be a traveling nurse and spend time with her father, stepmother and her siblings. She was in California for several years and, during this time, she and her sisters performed a lot of beautiful music together. In 2008, she moved back to the home John had been building for them on his family ranch. She now rests in peace until the Lord comes, at which time, she and her sisters will again sing together throughout eternity. Sandra is survived by her son, Jacob Wernicke (Ann) and his three boys, Brayden, Draycen and Bryce; her brother, Clark Pierce (Karen) and their two daughters, Adeline and Josephine; her sister, Cyndi Duensing (Barry); her sister, Tamara Allspaugh (Tony) and their son, Alexander; her stepmother, Toni Pierce; James Wernicke, Sr, the father of  her son; her stepson, James Wernicke, Jr.; and many cousins on both her mother's side and her father's side of the family, including her cousin sister, Diane Cook Sturges. She was preceded in death by her husband, John, in 2018; her brother, Theodore Pierce; her mother, Cecille, in 1992; and her father, Charles, in 2007.

A memorial service was held January 31, 2024, at the Clayton, New Mexico, Seventh-day Adventist Church.