Sarah Anne Neilson Bordelon was born in New Orleans on 17 November 1942 to Lillian Bienvenu Neilson and William Barry Neilson.
Educated by the Sisters of Mercy in Lafayette and then by the Jesuits at Loyola University in New Orleans, always at the top of her class.
Sarah was a bright, precocious girl raised in the conservative south. With a rare blend of hard-nosed common sense and great intelligence she rose to the Vice Presidency of Quest Diagnostic Laboratories after training as a medical technologist. Raised in a later age or another region, she would surely have been a physician or academic researcher.
She was a kind, loving mother and devoted wife, AND A GREAT COOK! in the tradition of her Cajun and French heritage.
This honest and gifted woman with an excellent sense of humor was appreciated by all who knew her. She died Monday, 17 December 2018, a week before her grandchildren were born. She is survived and mourned by her identical twin sons, John and Mark and her brother Charles Bienvenu Neilson.