Sanni Sundelin

Sanni Kathleen Sundelin left this world at the age 34 on Good Friday, April 7th at Tobey Hospital in Wareham, MA, after a brief illness.
She was born on July 12, 1988 at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where she remained in the neonatal ICU for a month. When she was finally able to come home to West Barnstable, MA, it was with nursing help. Sanni had many medical issues, and survived several serious operations over the years. Until the age of six, she received sustenance through a feeding tube, during which time her parents read to her. That accounted for her ability to read at the age of three. Sanni received most of her primary schooling on Cape Cod, MA, where she developed into a vivacious, curious, smart, funny, mischievous, and very verbal individual. She received a clinical diagnosis of high-functioning autism at the age of nine, but that was only a diagnosis, and not an indication of her special abilities. Sanni had the memory of an elephant, read the dictionary for fun, and never ceased to astonish people with her vast vocabulary.
At Crotched Mountain School in NH, a program for students with autism, Sanni flourished academically and made many friends from the age of 14 to 23. She was a superstar of sorts, and everyone on campus knew her name. Drama was Sanni's calling, and she responded by assuming the lead role in many plays, where she memorized everyone's lines in a matter of days. She could often be found offstage coaching her classmates who were frozen in the grips of stage fright.
After graduating from Crotched Mountain with a high school diploma, Sanni was placed in a group home for special needs girls on Cape Cod. For the last few years she was enrolled in the Gottschall Access Program at Bristol Community College, a unique college program for adults with autism. Her teachers considered her a leader in all her classes, where she excelled in every area.
Sanni adored her parents, a feeling that was reciprocal. She was a gentle, kind and loving soul who accepted people without judgment. Although she lacked a verbal filter, it was refreshing to know how she really felt about things.
Sanni leaves behind her parents, Patti Sundelin of East Sandwich, MA, and David Sundelin and step-mother Susan Handel of Round Pond, ME. Other relatives include her paternal grandmother, Ruth Stone of FL, two uncles, two aunts, and three cousins. A private interment and celebration of Sanni's life will take place on Cape Cod in the summer.
Donations in Sanni's memory may be made out to Community Autism Resources, ATTN: Kate Dansereau, Gottschall Access Program, 33 James Reynolds Rd., Suite C, Swansea, MA 02777.
For additional information or to send the family a written expression of sympathy, please visit an online guest book at www.dyer-lake funeral home.com
Arrangements under the direction of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA. 508-695-0200