Tina Sanford had two homes. The first was the residence she shared with her husband, Ben. The second was her work home, Tri-Star Supermarket in Kilmarnock. The latter was where she “received” her friends, the store’s loyal and faithful customers whom she delighted in serving with their daily grocery wants and needs.
Tina’s bailiwick consisted of a couple of the store’s aisles where she managed and maintained the supplies of canned and packaged goods. She was a prodigious worker who had a mind for orderliness and neatness. She was a very tidy person, both personally and professionally.
When she was not standing arranging her goods, she was seated on a stool with wheels to be able to have the lower items in the order she wanted. As customers came along the aisle, she would greet them. To those who sometimes required a little help in finding their items, myself often included, she would jump up and lead the person to his or her choices.
Cheerfulness was Tina’s trademark. She constantly exuded a spirit of joy in her work, greeting her customers and making them welcome in her domain. She was able to chat and work simultaneously, mentioning what she was planning to do on her day off or how the weather was treating us. She truly enjoyed people and making them as much at home in her store as she was herself.
Tina knew her products well, and she liked to hear customers’ comments about them in the form of what things went well together in a recipe, or how to cook various canned goods, or what brands the customers preferred. If the customer told her something new about a product, how to prepare it, or how to serve it, she would reply with a retort to the effect of “That sounds like something I’ll have to try.”
After a long career at Tri-Star, Tina had decided to cut back on her hours, and take what she termed, “semi-retirement.” She did not want to retire completely, in part because she enjoyed being with her co-workers and her customers. Seeing people and interacting with them formed an essential part of Tina’s daily life.
Over the years, when she was not at the store, Tina and Ben have devoted much of their free time in service to the community by volunteering at the Kilmarnock-Lancaster Volunteer Rescue Squad and the Upper Lancaster Volunteer Rescue Squad. They dedicated themselves and their talents to caring for those in need, and they were totally selfless in that pursuit, which was recognized in their becoming Life Members of the Kilmarnock squad.
Last week, Tina underwent heart surgery from which she succumbed early the following morning, leaving a tremendous void in our community. She was a truly happy person, who exuded her good will for others in every conversation. She genuinely liked helping people, whether in the grocery store or with the rescue squads. She sought no glory for herself, instead wanting to use her talents to better the lives and experiences of others.
In her work, Tina was the embodiment of the concept of shopping locally, in venues where customers and personnel become friends, dedicated to helping one another, and enjoying each other’s company and companionship in the process. Fortunately, in the Northern Neck we have been able to maintain the camaraderie attendant to the motto, “Shop Local,” and Tina Sanford was a strong link in that regard, as manifested to any shopper who passed down her aisles at the store.
Adele Valentina “Tina” Pagano Gallagher Sanford, July 21, 1955-May 6, 2026. R.I.P.
