Friday, March 28, 2014

Sarah Carnahan

DAY THIRTY-FIVE:   Once again, we have been reminded of the preciousness of life and how slender is the thread by which we hold to it. We learned yesterday that our friend, Sarah Carnahan, died in Sloan-Kettering Hospital in NYC, due to cancer and other medical complications, this past Tuesday, at the age of 53. Sarah is the daughter of our dear friends, John and Mary Carnahan, and in age is just between my children, Betsey and John (who are 55 and 52 respectively). Sarah and her sister Susan were bridesmaids in Betsey and Rob's wedding.
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We first got to know the Carnahan family when our kids were in high school. Betsey and Paul, Sarah's brother, were on the high school debate team together and dated for a while, and our families became good friends. After the kids had left home, Shirley and I would spend every Friday evening with the Carnahans, watching Washington Week in Review on TV, and then just visiting, sharing the week's events, and news of our children. This went on for years. They became virtual family for us. After Shirley died, I still saw the Carnahans regularly, especially at times when their family would gather, like Fourth of July, which was something of a tradition. In more recent years, Ellen has come to know and love them too, and while we don't see them as often as in earlier years, I still feel very close to them, and we get together for a meal now and then, talk on the phone, and keep in touch in other ways. Sarah's death touches us deeply.

Sarah was the very essence of vivacity, joy, caring, outgoingness, competence. She has been an elementary school teacher in Irvington, NY for over two decades, and is much loved by her students and fellow teachers. She leaves her husband, Al Quintero, three beautiful daughters, Anna, Elizabeth and Natalie, her two siblings, Susan and Paul, and their families, as well as her parents. We have been blessed to know her, and mourn deeply her untimely departure from our midst. 

Sarah Carnahan
Sarah (at right) with her sister-in-law, Eve, at a Fourth of July gathering, 2012.
Gathering in the Carnahan's backyard on the Fourth of July to make home-made ice cream.



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