Sara Frances Brawley was born in the small town of Rioverde, San Luis Potosí, Mexico, on September 19th, 1967. She was the second daughter of Jane and Robert Brawley and the little sister of Anna. She made many friends while growing up in South Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and in Memphis, TN, where she graduated from White Station High School in 1985. She found more friends at Butler University in Indianapolis, IN, which she chose in part because she wanted to major in Zoology, and Butler offered that. In the end, she changed her major and earned the Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, instead of Zoology—but she remained a diehard Bulldog fan for the rest of her life! She explored even more of the US after she finished college, living in Indianapolis, Tucson, AZ, San Francisco, CA, and Chicago, IL. In 1994, she settled in Denver, CO, where she made even more friends and worked as a Commercial Leasing Manager until her death after a brief illness on December 1, 2011.
While growing up, she also enjoyed playing with her cousins, Amy and Katherine Alter, Jenny, Becky, Harriet and John Brawley; and David, Paul, Chris and Elaine Sanders. In Denver, Sara found a home with Jennifer Shaw and her three children, Carl, Mary, and Ben Hazsnos. Sara remained in a loving and supportive partnership with Jennifer for nearly ten years, and she continued to be a second mom to Carl, Mary, and Ben even after she and Jennifer decided to change the nature of their relationship. In 2005, she entered into and remained in a loving partnership with Diane Zidek, originally of Baltimore, MD. Diane loved, supported, and sustained Sara during their time together, most especially during her last brief illness.
Undoubtedly Sara’s greatest gift, love, and pursuit was music, which she enthusiastically and willingly shared with others from an early age. She got her first guitar when she was 8 years old and taught herself to play it. Although she also took piano lessons and played the clarinet and drums, the guitar was her primary instrument, which she mastered with proficiency, gaining greater and greater skill over the years. She had an incredible ear and often heard musical nuances that others missed. She and her cousin, Chris Sanders, began playing shows for the family when they were kids, and as an adult, she played in several incarnations of a band that made a few professional appearances. Her dream was to organize an all-female band, and she loved going to concerts and listening to other bands, as well.
Sara also had a great love and compassion for animals. In addition to raising two birds, Snowball and Kate, at age 11, Sara got a German Shepherd whom she named Max, who was a loyal companion for 13 years. She also shared custody of two cats, Cindy and Button, with her sister and cared devotedly for cats in her Denver households, Sydney, Jam, and Klinger. In her high school years, she was a volunteer at the Memphis Zoo, where she assisted in the care of animals, including a baby gorilla.
Sara was keenly attuned to issues of peace and justice. She opposed war and military force, promoted and lived anti-racism and fought for equality in civil and economic rights, especially for GLBTQ persons. Arrangements under the direction of Olinger Hampden Mortuary & Cemetery, Denver, CO.
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