Don Sands, 76, passed away at home Nov. 21, 2017 losing his final drag race to cancer. He was born May 16, 1941, and was raised in Cheyenne, graduating from Cheyenne High School in 1959. He worked at McDonald’s while in school and styled his own hamburger that he called the “Sands” Burger. As late as 1981, you could still order a “Sands” Burger. Cars and drag racing were his passion, and Oldsmobile was his brand of choice. He was known as Cheyenne’s oldest teenager; most every kid with a car knew Don. He retired from Wyoming Chemical and devoted more time to racing his cars. Don never married. He will be missed and remembered for the unique person he was. A get-together in his memory is planned for a later date. Later, Dude. Rest in peace.

In 2019, a group of Don’s friends headed by Jim Haefele, got together to plan a Memorial to honor this hot rodder from Cheyenne who helped generations for young car enthusiasts with their passion for cars. On August 15th, 2019, Don Sands Memorial Get Together was held at Uncle Charlie’s in North Cheyenne. Everyone was invited to come and if you had a hot rod,

muscle car, or late model performance vehicle, to bring it out to this event. This was not to be a car show but a chance to get together and reminisce about Don and to share our favorite stories about Cheyenne’s oldest teenager. We asked everyone to donate to the cancer fund in memory of Don’ and we were able to donate $2,200.00 to cancer research. Most everyone commented that they really enjoyed meeting people they had not seen in years, loved sharing stories about Don, and this event should happen every year.

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