Lyza Lee Sandgren

Lyza Hillyer Sandgren aka Nancy Lee Engel of Suwanee, Georgia passed away peacefully on June 11, 2020, at Northside Gwinnett Hospital after a lengthy battle with cancer. Lyza was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 24, 1950, to Hillyer Louise Norment Engel and George Pettigrew Engel, who preceded her in death. She attended Drake University and the University of Wisconsin as a dance major and interior design major. After college, she worked in design in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Later she moved to New York City to pursue a singing career for a brief period. She moved to Atlanta to be with her sister and family and help care for her ailing mother in 1994. While on stage in Atlanta she met her husband Hudi Jay Sandgren, the love of her life for the past 27 years. While in New York she worked on the side at an intellectual property law firm and became a paralegal. In Atlanta, she continued with her own intellectual property paralegal firm, Canopy Legal. She is survived by her husband, Hudi Jay Sandgren of Atlanta; sister Connie Engel, brother-in-law Pete Watson; step-son David Lord; nieces Sarah Oddsen DeCaro, Jacqueline Watson Grech and their spouses and children; nephew Simon Ellis Watson; cousin Pam Engel Brewer and husband, Lloyd Brewer; and dozens of close friends.