Sarah B. Hershey

SARAH B. HERSHEY (January 23, 1916 – June 7, 2021)

Having survived two global pandemics, Sarah died peacefully on June 7, 2021, surrounded by her three children. She was 105. Her children attribute her longevity to her loving, peaceable, and unflappable demeanor. She was predeceased by Ross, her husband of 44 years. After his death in 1988, she continued on her own as an empathetic friend to many.

Sarah grew up in the small North Carolina town of Warrenton, the eldest of the four children of Robert E. and Nina Brickhouse. She took example in how to live from her father's moral standards as a Baptist minister and her mother's love. Following her education at Campbell Junior College, Wake Forest University, and Chowan College, Sarah worked as a teacher in Macon, NC, for a bank in Richmond, VA, and when World War II started, as secretary to several Navy captains at Dahlgren VA Proving Ground. There she met a handsome ensign, Ross Hershey, and married him in 1944.

The newlyweds moved to Milwaukee after the war and started their family. After moves to Birmingham, MI and Buffalo, the family settled in Cincinnati. Sarah took on a host of civic roles as scout leader, PTA president, and member of the school planning commission and the board of education in the Cincinnati suburb of Madeira. Upon completing eight years of school board service, Sarah's official thanks from the community read, "Both as a member and as President of The Board, your sense of balance and fair play and your persistence for what is right have been vital ingredients in the continuing success of Madeira Schools."

As empty nesters, Sarah and Ross enjoyed traveling and a close circle of friends. They moved to Greensboro, NC, as retirees, but Sarah missed her many Madeira friends and moved herself back after Ross died. She especially enjoyed her Madeira "art group" of lady water-colorers, where the conversation often overshadowed the art in their weekly gatherings. Her friends' paintings graced her living room until the day she died.

Sarah lived independently into her late nineties and reluctantly gave up driving at age 97 following what she claimed was an 83-year accident-free record. She moved to Traverse City, MI in 2017 and was lovingly cared for at Boardman Lake Glens. Like so many of Sarah's friends and relatives, the staff there often extolled Sarah's kindness and warm smile.

Sarah is survived by her children, William R. Hershey (Debra), Donald R. Hershey (Jean-Marie), and Sally A. Hershey (Carol Banfield), by her siblings, Robert Brickhouse, Mae Shore, and Bettie Shore, and by her five grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and six nieces and nephews. The family will hold a private celebration of Sarah's life. In lieu of flowers, a memorial may be made to Hospice of Michigan.