SARA SANBORN TODD

1941-2017

Sara Sanborn Todd died peacefully at home on March 21, 2017. Born in Kankakee, Ill October 15, 1941 to Dan Carmony Sanborn and Elinor Harding Sanborn, she moved with her family to McAllen, TX at a young age. Reared there, she then graduated from St. Stephens Episcopal School in Austin, TX, and earned a BA summa cum laude from the University of Texas and Master of Arts degrees from Harvard and Brandeis. After teaching public school in Cambridge, she worked at the Harvard School of Education and at the Radcliffe Institute. She then worked for many years as a freelance writer for The Nation, The New Republic, Commentary, the New York Times Book Review and MS magazine. She particularly enjoyed meeting Sally Ride and writing the MS cover story “Ride Sally Ride.”

A lifelong Episcopalian, in 1975 she did the Rev. Samuel R. Todd, Jr. the honor of accepting his proposal of marriage. In all the years since they lived in Austin, San Antonio and Houston. In 1978 she gave birth to their beloved daughter Miranda who lives in Austin with her daughter Ellie. Sara regarded Miranda as her greatest accomplishment.

Having had rheumatic fever as a child, she had serious cardiac issues as an adult. After a six week struggle in the hospital with cardiac, pulmonary and kidney problems, she turned her face toward eternity and came home under hospice care March 16th. On the first day of spring, she accepted Christ’s invitation: “come away to the skies, my beloved arise”.

At 11am, on April 1st her funeral will be at Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church where for years she served in St. Bede’s Chapel as a lay reader, chalice bearer and altar guild member. Memorials may be sent to the SPCA.