Sarah Lynne James

Sarah left this world tragically on July 17, 2019, after enjoying an evening out with friends, near her LSU campus where she was a sophomore studying biological engineering. Sarah was born in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada on June 17, 2000 and lived there until she was five years old. Her family then relocated to Lake Jackson, TX where she lived until she was 11 at which time her family moved to the Destrehan, LA area (Montz, LA). Each summer she spent time in Montana and Indiana visiting with her grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins, and extended families, and many friends. Sarah enjoyed hiking in the mountains of Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and recently in Yosemite National Park, Sequoia National Park and Big Sur area of California. Her family had taken several other adventurous trips to Banff National Park Canada, Big Bend National Park, Vermont, Niagara Falls, Mackinac Island, The Great Smokey Mountains, and Appalachia. Sarah made some very special friends throughout her childhood in many different areas, including Alberta, Texas and Louisiana. She kept in touch with many of those to this day. Her youth included lots of activities like soccer, swim team, and girl scouts. She played clarinet in grade school band and took piano lessons. She expressed her love of art by painting and drawing. Sarah also developed an early habit of making lists – for everything! Upon moving to Louisiana, Sarah had a somewhat slow adjustment but one day she decided she was going to excel and make her initial mark through academic and other organizational achievements. She developed a strict habit of “study time” every day after school and applied herself. She competed with fury and volunteered for many activities. Her social life and friendships also blossomed from there. Sarah volunteered for Wetland Watchers when she was in elementary school and she loved showing others the live animals that are native to Louisiana and enjoyed working as a counselor at Swamp School. Sarah was a talented writer and won second place in 2014 for her nonfiction story in the State of Louisiana’s LA Writes Youth Writing Contest. In 2015 Sarah competed at the state level at the Louisiana Science and Engineering Fair. During her high school years Sarah was voted by her peers as “Most Likely to be President”, “Most Likely to Cure Cancer”, and in 2018, “Most Likely to Impact the World”. Sarah played tennis at Destrehan High School for four years and was team captain and a State Finalist her senior year. Sarah was a gifted artist and was part of the Talented Art program at Destrehan High School. She was a member of the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) teen squad which is a creative youth development program that aims to “develop the creative potential of its participants to live richer, fuller lives and develop the critical learning and life skills they need to become active contributors to their communities”. Sarah joined her St Charles United Methodist Church family in 2015, and was confirmed along with her brother. She went on mission trips to Rio Bravo, Mexico in 2017 and 2018, where she worked on a construction team and was member of a medical team with “Louisiana a Mexico – Manos Juntas Con Jesucrito”. Sarah was honored to represent Destrehan High School in 2017 at the American Legion Auxiliary Girls State of Louisiana. In April of 2017, she started to realize that medicine was to be her path after being selected to participate in “The Perry Initiative’s Perry Outreach Program” at Tulane University. The program’s goal is “to inspire women to pursue careers in Orthopedic Surgery and Engineering”.

Sarah served as National Honor Society President during her senior year and was the first in her high school to be awarded a scholarship from the national chapter. She was a member of the St Charles Parish School Superintendent’s Student Advisory Board. Sarah was elected to Destrehan Homecoming Court her senior year. Sarah was named Destrehan Student of the Year and St Charles Parish Public Schools Student of the Year, and also graduated salutatorian of Destrehan High School in Destrehan, LA in 2018. Sarah had recently completed her first year of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering (BAE) FastPath program (a selective program where she would earn her Bachelors of Science degree in Biological Engineering, and then work concurrently on her medical degree and PhD) at LSU in Baton Rouge, LA. She was honored to be named on the President’s Honor Roll for achieving > 4.0 in her engineering studies to date. Sarah had just ordered a study guide and was beginning to prepare for her MCAT which she planning to take next summer. She was also a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, being a legacy from her grandmother Jenny Lou (Lu-Lu). In April 2019, she was awarded the Wiley D. Poole Memorial Scholarship at LSU’s Department of BAE awards banquet. A close LSU friend said: “Sarah loved to be involved and do as much as she could, when most people just did the bare minimum”. Sarah was employed part-time at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge where she performed lab work as an assistant. She worked a second part-time job as a medical secretary at Associates in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine in Baton Rouge, LA. And Sarah had just started a third part-time job as a medical scribe in the emergency room at a local hospital. Sarah developed a close and lasting relationship with many of her elementary and high school teachers and her LSU professors. She was blessed to be surrounded by many talented teachers, mentors, friends and family who loved her. Sarah had a very subtle sense of humor – early on she learned how to make funny faces from her mom and dad, listening to “A Fidgety Frolic”, reenacting entire episodes of “Jay Jay the Jet Plane”, doing an impression of “Turn Around Bright Eyes”, performing silly dance routines, and many more. We’ll never forget one night at the Embassy Suites, when Sarah, age 10, did her “Mountain Stomp Dance” in the lobby for at about 10 minutes. While Sarah was an accomplished student, she was not all about the books. She had a passion for style and was a talented makeup artist, often helping her friends get ready for special events. She loved shopping—especially at thrift stores! She was always thrilled when she found a fashionable piece for a great deal and would say “I’ve got a lot of college to pay for, you know…” with that special smile of hers.

Sarah was very close to her younger brother Clay. Although they often fought, as good siblings do, they were very attached to each other and had gone through many experiences together. They shared an excellent sense of humor and love for each other. Sarah dearly loved spending time with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family and friends. She would occasionally chastise her parents for not having more social gatherings. Sarah developed a love for Crawfish Boils while in Louisiana – and undoubtedly the social aspect. Although Sarah was great at setting and achieving goals, she artfully worked to achieve balance in her life. She based her 2018 salutatorian speech around the quote displayed on the wall in her family’s kitchen: “Life is not a matter of milestones, but of moments”. This served to remind her to take time to enjoy the path, and not just the destination. Thank you Sarah James for the million wonderful moments! Rest in Peace sweet girl, knowing you were dearly loved and that you made a difference in the lives of many. Sarah is survived by: Parents - Doug and Becky (Rhodes) James of Montz, LA; Brother – Clayton James; Grandparents - Mel and Pam James of Bigfork, MT; John and Mary Rhodes of Bremen, IN; Chuck Siderius of Kalispell, MT; Aunt - Beth (Rhodes) Bogunia and cousin Bryant Bogunia of South Bend, IN; Aunt and Uncle - Kim (James) Zipp and Gene Zipp of Woods Bay, MT; Beloved pets, Emma (Emma Moo-Moo) and Amber (Amber-Bamber), two Labrador retriever-mix rescue dogs.

Sarah is preceded in death by: Grandmother – Jenny Lou (Lu-Lu) Siderius of Kalispell, MT; and Uncle – Clifford Melbourne James, III (Trey) of Kalispell, MT, who are holding her tight until we see her again.

Relatives and friends of Sarah James are invited to attend a Memorial Visitation at St. Charles United Methodist Church, 1905 Ormond Blvd. Destrehan, LA 70047, on Wednesday, July 24, 2019 from 5:30 PM until 7PM. A Memorial Service will be held at the church Thursday, July 25, 2019 at 11 AM. Officiant, Pastor Michelle Harris, Honorary Pallbearers: Clay James, brother; Bryan Bogunia, cousin; Ethan Headings, boyfriend; Noah Wilkins, friend; Matt Lewis, friend; and Nicholas Dufresne, friend. H.C. Alexander Funeral Home in charge of arrangements, please visit www.HCAlexander.com to view and sign the online guestbook. In Lieu of flowers the family has established a memorial fund, please consider donating to the Sarah James Memorial Scholarship Fund, you may donate by writing a check to Sarah James Memorial Scholarship Fund and send to either St. Charles United Methodist Church (1905 Ormond Blvd. Destrehan, LA 7047) or Destrehan High School (1 Wildcat Lane, Destrehan, LA 70047), or donating via www.Gofundme.com (Sarah James Memorial Scholarship Fund).