C. Sarah Dressman, 87, of Woodstock
WOODSTOCK >> It is with the deepest sadness that we formally announce the death of Mrs. C. Sarah Dressman, 87, of Woodstock. She died from complications of cardiovascular surgery at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie on Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 6:30 in the evening.
She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Howard Dressman; her daughter, Molly R. Dressman; and her granddaughter, Sophie Dressman-Keel.
Cherie Sarah Deslandes was born on June 10, 1931, during an unlikely snow storm in Waterbury, Conn. She was the only child of Albert Deslandes and Dorothy Mary LaRocque.
Many know Sarah from the decades she served as a public health nurse in Ulster County and the greater Hudson Valley. Her lifelong career in nursing began as a teenager in the late 1940s. Sarah graduated with a BS in Nursing from NYU in 1957 and received her MSN to a be a Nurse Practitioner from SUNY Binghamton in the late seventies. Sarah was especially passionate about providing educational,
compassionate and comprehensive health care to mothers, babies and children. While at NYU, in a world history class, Sarah met her life partner, Howie. She whispered in his ear, “I’m the girl for you, Howie,” and they married on Oct. 23, 1958. The following year, Howie got a job with the international mutual funds company IOS and together the couple went on to travel the world until settling in Woodstock in 1971. Sarah gave birth to her son, Morris Dressman, in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 3, 1960, and her daughter, Molly R. Dressman, in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 20, 1961. In the spring of 1980, the Dressman family suffered a terrible tragedy
when Morris died in a car accident.
Sarah possessed incredible intellectual and spiritual curiosity, diligence, compassion, generosity and good humor. She was a voracious reader, accomplished cook, collector of seashells, lover of plants and animals, and so much more. Sarah’s smile gleamed right into her last days. She cherished and nurtured everything and everyone around her. She loved life. She will be profoundly missed forevermore.
The public is invited to gather in loving memory of Mrs. Sarah Dressman on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2019, for a noon service at Lasher’s Funeral Home in Woodstock, N.Y.