Sara’s Mum and Dad were Edith and Ted Sheppard – Edith is still going strong at 99 years of age. Ted was a Master Gardener specialising in botanicals and his jobs took him all over the world including to Canada where Sara was born in Niagara Falls – Ted was then working on the Niagara Parks team.

Canada was only a very brief part of Sara’s life as the family returned to England before Sara reached school age. A succession of gardens and different towns took her through her two highlights of living at Wye College in Kent, where Ted received his master’s degree in horticulture, and later in her teenage years to Leicester University Parks and Gardens where she met with some of her lasting friends for life. Sue, Alison, Adam and Richard to name but a few. There were lots of other stopovers on the way but none so good as the idyllic Wye and the formative years at Leicester.

Once A levels were through Sara’s first career thoughts on going to teacher training College were upgraded by a spectacular crop of A grades. So, to UEA in Norwich to study English and American Studies – she was amazing at this too coming away with a near First Class degree.

It was at UEA that she met and fell in love with Alan – and they got married both aged 22 in the next summer after graduation. Sara considered her options and trained to be a special needs teacher after all, at Redland College in Bristol. At that time her specialism was what later grew to be called Autism. Rather than live in the city of Bristol Alan and Sara preferred the country life.  So, with Alan who was not yet set on a career path they moved out of Bristol into the Gloucester Countryside and an attic at Haresfield Vicarage.  Happy carefree days!

Once Sara had qualified, Alan also decided to train as a special needs teacher, but his course was at the University of Sussex, and this was the beginning of the next 46 years together in Sussex, first in Brighton and then later in Worthing.

Sara and Alan were married at Dyffryn Gardens near Cardiff – a brilliant venue which was possible because Ted was then the curator of the National Garden of Wales.

46 years of marriage that created 3 wonderful children, James now married to Jemima, John and Lauren with partner Dan. In turn Sara was so pleased to welcome her grandchildren Felix, George, Tilda, Mabel and Rowan into her life. As a Granny she was the best – full of life, fun, games, food and most of all she always had time.

Alongside her own Granny antics, she cared deeply for her mum, Edith (or GG) and after Ted died devoted much of her free time to travelling back and forth to Kent to spend precious time together, chatting, laughing and sharing the odd glass of Sherry.  Edith eventually moved to Worthing too to make the visits a little easier.

All of the little guys came along in Sara’s and Alan’s retirement years. Before all that fun, Sara was also a brilliant Mum, wife and teacher. She spent 33 years at Highdown School and later at Palatine School. At Highdown, she started off working with severely autistic children and fast became one of the experts in that field in West Sussex – but not for her an advisor’s job out of the classroom – she was always hands on and wanted to stay that way.

When the needs at Highdown School for someone to head up the team for Profound and Multiple Learning Disability children arose – Sara met this challenge too and with the same mindset, soon becoming an expert in this field too – but she would never say so herself – but her team would!

Sara continued in the role when Highdown School amalgamated with Palatine School and carried on her successful PMLD unit until retirement at 59.

Alongside all of this as an adult, Sara was baptised into the Worthing Tabernacle Evangelical free church and when the church split, she joined the new Grace Church and later the River of Life. She was involved in church life helping with the creche and any art and craft activities. Especially ‘Messy Art’.  As part of her Christian belief, she became a ‘Street Pastor’ helping many distressed revellers of Worthing over about ten years – She was so well loved and dealt with many a difficult situation by calm diffusion.
I wasn’t all work, there were an odd few days in the year for family holidays – one of the joys of teaching was that long block of time in the summer. Sara’s Mum and Dad had always taken her to Viking Bay, Broadstairs as a child. Now with Ted and Edith living in Ash in Kent – why break with tradition – so many happy memories of Broadstairs, Rook’s pasties, crabbing in the pool, swimming in the sea and fun and games on the beach as a very happy family. There was always a late August Camping holiday as well before the end of those precious summer holiday weeks

Once the kids – James. John and Lauren reached the age when holidays with M & D were non regur, Alan and Sara went further afield by themselves – Hong Kong and China to see James and Jemima – they astounded their tour guide by meeting up with John on the Great wall of China with a casual ‘Hi John’ after he made his own way there from Beijing.  Favourite holiday ever was a two-week spent exploring Orkney and Shetland.

Sara shared a love for football with Alan – and for a couple of years had season tickets at the Etihad in Manchester – to ease the travelling the football season tickets became more local and they witnessed the rise of the Seagulls into the force they are now – but ‘Blue Moon’ always remained the top love for both Sara and Alan.

Sara lived her life focused on her principles and the things that made her happy.  In the main, those were her family, her friends and the children she taught.  She cared deeply for others and was always ready to help, support and talk whenever or wherever it was needed.  She was selfless, funny, full of energy, and at times a little eccentric. 

Sara’s was a life cut far too sort by a shockingly quick attack from a wicked disease, but what a great woman and what a great life well lived.