Reva Alice (Coffing) Sahm

Reva Sahm lived an extraordinary life. She was born February 24,1928, in Fountain County, Indiana, to the late Grace and Clint Coffing. An only child, Reva grew up on a farm in Covington, Indiana. She went to Vine Grade School, where she rode her horse to school each day. She was active in 4-H from an early age, showing horses and cattle as well as sewing and baking, and often a ribbon winner in the Indiana State Fair competitions.

Reva was a 1946 graduate of Attica High School, where she was active in youth clubs and student council. Reva continued her education at Purdue University, majoring in Home Economics and minoring in Physical Education. She was a founding member of the Sigma Kappa Sorority chapter at Purdue and kept in touch with her sorority sisters over the years.

She began her teaching career at Griffith High School in 1950, where she taught Home Economics. She met her late husband, William (Bill) Sahm, through a mutual friend at a wedding. By the end of the evening, Bill told Reva he was going to marry her someday, to which she replied, “We will see about that.” Their first date was not long after, a Notre Dame football game in South Bend, where Bill lived at the time. From the night they met until the day they were married, Bill wrote Reva one love letter a week. She kept the letters in chronological order, stored neatly in a box for her entire life. They were married in June of 1954 and moved to Indianapolis where they started their family. Theirs was a short, yet true, love story.

After her husband Bill died suddenly in 1973 at the age of 45, Reva was left to raise their nine children. She took comfort in the Catholic widows group she joined and the support of Immaculate Heart parish and the broader Catholic community. Her favorite prayer was the Serenity Prayer. She was an active mom, attending as many activities as she could. She was also an active member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church and School, volunteering whenever she could. Reva was always on the sidelines at CYO kickball, football and basketball games, along with little league baseball games and baking and sewing contests. She sat through high school and college football games, volleyball matches, basketball and baseball games and never once yelled at a ref. She worked odd jobs to make ends meet until she decided to teach again. She taught Home Economics at Bishop Chatard High School for seven years (and possibly wrote a few get out of class passes for a few of her children who were students there at the time).

Before Bill’s death, the family would take their summer family vacations to Scituate, Massachusetts, although for Reva it may have been more of a chore. But the long car rides, the time spent at the beach and getting paid to jump in the frigid water, the wiffle ball games in the front yard, the card playing at night— those were all made possible by Reva and Bill.

Reva welcomed her children’s spouses into the Sahm family and so enjoyed their friendships over the years.

She never let up in her zest for life. She loved trying new things like line dancing (much to the joy of her grandkids), she was competitive with her card groups, she joined the Bishop Chatard ladies bowling league, she worked out at Live Rite, and she traveled extensively with her close group of girlfriends. Reva loved Sahm’s wings, spinach melts and mushroom caps, and she devoured peppermint ice cream. She also loved driving fast, which she passed on to most if not all of her children. She loved gathering shells, reading, and watching sunsets at the beach.

Her grandchildren were one of the greatest loves of Reva’s life (even though she thought she was too young to be a grandma). She welcomed each and every one of them with loving arms and was an instrumental part of their lives. Just like with her own children she was always there, quietly cheering them on. She made every holiday special. She hosted sleepovers, taught card games and Rummikub, and made s’mores at campfires. One Sahm Family vacation was especially memorable, when she dressed up in her ice cream attire for the “beauty pageant.” They all had a special love for her and were proud to call her Grandma Reva.

She is survived by her loving children: Bill (Debbie), Karen (Tim), Cewa (Dave), Kathy (Mark), Lizzie (Jon), Ed (Jenny), Gracie (Maris), John (Dawn), Mike (Alicia); grandchildren, Sarah, Andy, Katie and Janet; Tim, Scott, Kevin, Jennifer, Mike, and David; Alice and David; Ben and Kellie; Billy and Henry; Eddie, Adrienne, Molly, Shelby, and Sean; Clint and Annie; John, Daniel, Nick and Jack; Jake and Sam; and her great-grandchildren, Addie, June, Trip, Indy, Teagan, Ari, Zeke, Trudy, Felicity, Gemma, William, Robert, Ryan, Owen, Will, Luke, Barrett, Juliet, Blair, Audrie, Aida, Hadley, Grant, Luca and Imogen.

She will be so sadly missed by her family, but her kindness and love have left a lasting legacy on all who knew and were so touched by her. She will live on in all of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all of the little Sahms to come.

People often referred to her as the strongest person they knew, and they were probably right, yet she never considered herself that. When asked how she made it through all of those years with so much responsibility and heartache, Reva always replied, “You just do.”

A visitation for Reva will take place on Sunday, May 1, 2022 from 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Bishop Chatard High School, 5885 N. Crittenden Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46220. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, May 2, 2022 at 12:00 PM at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 4100 E. 56th St. Indianapolis, IN 46220.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made by mail to the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization), 580 Stevens St. Indianapolis, IN 46203.