SOPHY, Sandra B. (ZuZu)

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Friday, November 19, 2010 Sandra B. Sophy, 70, born Oct. 31, 1940, in Shanghai, China, passed away Nov. 18, 2010, in Good Samaritan Marley House Hospice, Prescott. Private cremation services were at Mountain View Crematory in Prescott. Family service by Heritage Memory Mortuary in Prescott. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, November 23, 2010 Sandra B. Sophy (October 31, 1940-November 18, 2010) Sandra, or "ZuZu," as she was affectionately referred to, died in Prescott, Ariz., on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2010. She was born in Shanghai, China, on Oct. 31, 1940, and celebrated her "Halloween" birthday for 70 years. Sandy's parents, Miriam and Urie Beregovsky, were Russian émigrés. Her father walked to China from Vladivostok when pursued by the Bolshevik police. Sandra began her life in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. In 1950, following the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the family was permitted to leave China. Being stateless and without documents, they were not welcome in most countries. But because they were Jewish, they were welcome in Israel, which had been established as a state two years before. Sandra lived in Israel for 11 years, serving in the Israeli army and residing in Haifa. She attended Pensionnat de Nazareth secondary school in Haifa. Sandra's father worked for the Israeli navigation company - ZIM - and in the early '60s was posted to Takoradi, Ghana, to assist the Ghanaian government in establishing the Black Star Line. In Africa, Sandra met an American teacher, Michael Sophy, from Tucson, Ariz. In 1965, she traveled to Arizona on a round-trip ticket to visit Michael (who was just completing law school), and ended up staying and getting married. In 1968, the Sophys moved to Phoenix, where Sandra raised their two sons, Daniel and Joseph, and where Sandra attended Scottsdale Community College. Later she worked for Best Western International and operated a phone center inside the Arizona women's prison (ACW). Subsequently she served as an assistant to two Phoenix mayors, Terry Goddard and Paul Johnson, at City Hall. Sandra was preceded in death by her parents and older son Daniel. She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Michael; her son Joseph; and her sister, Assia Menzies of England. No services are planned. Information provided by survivors.