Sarah Brown Blatchford, age 90, of South Dartmouth, passed away peacefully at home on April 30th after a brief illness. Sarah was married to Peter Blatchford with whom she shared 68 years of marriage.
Sarah was born in Brooklyn, NY on February 26, 1932, a daughter of the late S. Howell Brown, Jr. and Dorothy Robert Brown. She grew up in Summit, NJ before her family moved to Mamaroneck, NY. After graduating from Greenwich Academy in Connecticut, Sarah attended Endicott College in Beverly, MA, and it was during this time that she met Peter, the love of her life. Notably, in her college yearbook, Sarah expressed her wish to have six children. Following her graduation from Endicott, Sarah and Peter were married in 1954. After living in Langhorne, PA for several years, they moved to South Dartmouth, where they have lived for the last 64 years.
While possessing many extraordinary qualities, Sarah was most noted for being a loving matriarch and a fiercely devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. In her youth, Sarah was an accomplished and highly-regarded equestrian rider who once rode in Madison Square Garden. While raising her family in South Dartmouth, Sarah was very active in her children’s schools and extracurricular activities and also in the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth, where she had been on the board of trustees. Sarah was also active in a number of social groups like the “Jolly Lobbers” tennis group, where few of her opponents would dare approach the net, and bridge groups she enjoyed for over six decades. Sarah cherished the many strong friendships she established while raising her family in South Dartmouth and maintained these friendships for the rest of her life. Sarah and Peter loved to travel in their later years, but Sarah was always excited to come home to her village by the sea, where their home remains the center of four generations of family members. In addition to her family-centric life, Sarah found time to work as a tutor in the special needs program in the New Bedford School system. She was also a dedicated volunteer for Southcoast Hospice and Fairhaven Community Nurses.
Surviving in addition to her husband are her six children and their spouses and her eighteen adored grandchildren: Dorothy Brown Blatchford Jenkins and husband Geoffrey of South Dartmouth (and their children Matt, Nick and Ellie), Peter Douglass Blatchford and wife Martha of New Gloucester, ME (and their children Hannah and Jonathan), David Lawrence Blatchford and partner Debra Menard of South Dartmouth (and children Kurt, Liz and Lindsey), William Howland Blatchford and wife Marian of Sharon, MA (and their children Sam, Megan and Morgan), Susan Lord Blatchford of Hinsdale, IL (and her children Sarah, Tyler and Tobin) and John Tyler Blatchford and wife Donna of Glen Ellyn, IL (and their children Annie, Peter, Janie and Henry); nineteen great-grandchildren; and four beloved nieces. Sarah left this earth knowing her beloved Peter would be cared for by all who know him, as she had done the past 68 years. She was pre-deceased by her parents, by her sister, Susan B. Blatchford, and by many dear friends. The family extends their deepest appreciation to Bernice “Bunny” Sylvia and the rest of the team of dedicated and compassionate caregivers for the loving care given to Sarah.
A memorial service to celebrate Sarah’s life will be held at the Congregational Church of South Dartmouth and is being planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Hospice at Community Nurse of Fairhaven or to the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust.
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