Sarah Oneill Asche

Sallie was born on April 17, 1947 in Philadelphia, PA, and departed this life on March 5, 2012 at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX, after a brief but unflinching and courageous battle with leukemia. As a child, Sallie settled in Ardmore, PA, with her beloved mother, Nancy Cunningham O’Neill. Sallie graduated from the School of the Holy Child, Senior School in Rosemont, PA. As a young woman, she took great pride in her work as an operating room nurse in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Sallie was a remarkable, vibrant woman with a warm and generous spirit. She opened her heart, her homes, and her life to her family and friends and was deeply loved by them in return. In the final months of her life, Sallie was inseparable from her dearest friends—Mary Susan Barnhill and Ann Brown of Dallas, TX, and Patricia Grant of North Andover, MA. Their unremitting devotion and generosity to Sallie demonstrated the full measure of their friendship, as well as the commitment and love that Sallie engendered in those who were closest to her. Sallie was deeply caring of her employees: Almasa and Hamo Dedic, Edsel and Nellie Gonzales, Jutta Koster, Dan Jackson and Josh Hart. Each of them became a part of her family.

Sallie was preceded in death, by only five months, by her husband of 34 years, Frederic B. “Tex” Asche, who was the love of her life and to whom she was devoted. Together they were members of the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, FL, the Palm Beach Yacht Club, and Club Collette, as well as the Safari and Crescent Clubs of Dallas. In 2004, Sallie and Tex donated funds for the completion of a wing at the Center for BrainHealth, part of the University of Texas at Dallas. The Sallie and Frederic B. Asche Jr. Advanced Treatment Wing provides interventions to victims of stroke and other forms of brain injury.

Sallie is survived by her step-children: sons E. Craig and Vivian Asche of Leverett, MA., and Fritz and Cindy Asche of Dallas, TX; daughters Lisa Asche Mittnacht of Kiawah Island, SC, and Vale Asche-Elkins and Ed Elkins of Dallas, TX; as well as their children Stewart Mittnacht II, William Asche, Sanderson Mittnacht, Alexander Asche, Tanner Elkins, Elizabeth Asche, Alexandra Elkins, David Asche, and twins Luke and Zachary Asche. In addition, Sallie is survived by many loving friends whom she treasured as family, as well as five cherished dogs, Sallie’s “fur children:” Allie, Andy, Beau, Mary Jane, and Samantha.

Sallie was a founding member of the Advisory Board for the Center for Vital Longevity, a part of the University of Texas at Dallas. Sallie had a keen interest in the science of the aging brain, and a hope that, through research, future generations will no longer suffer from strokes, Alzheimer’s disease, and the cognitive losses associated with aging. It was her desire that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in her memory to: “The Sallie Asche Fund for Vital Aging: UT Dallas,” in care of The Center for Vital Longevity, 1600 Viceroy Drive, Suite 800, Dallas, TX 75235. For assistance with on-line donations, please contact Paula Abercrombie, 972-883-3200 or e-mail “[email protected].”

A memorial service to celebrate Sallie’s life will be held at the Sparkman/Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W. Northwest Highway, Dallas, TX, on Saturday, March 10, at 2 pm. Immediately following the service there will be a reception at the Park Cities Club of Dallas, 5956 Sherry Lane, Suite 1700.