Sarah Grace Olson

On Thursday 10 November 2022, Sarah Grace Olson went home to the Lord, passing away peacefully in her sleep. She had just celebrated her 23rd birthday on 18 October.

Sarah was born 12 weeks premature in 1999 in Omaha NE. She suffered an infection while in the NICU and coded twice while in the hospital with pneumonia when she was 18 months old. She was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, brain atrophy, and cerebral palsy.

In spite of her physical and mental handicaps, Sarah was a happy person. Her God-given virtuous disposition shone through her brokenness, illuminating in her everything good that we strive to be. She was patient, bearing with everyone in love; guileless - having no ulterior motives or malice behind her actions; and generally happy at every little kindness and experience, whether that be a new or old toy, a ride in the car, attending school and adult day care, or going to work as a greeter at Josephine’s in Port Orchard.

Sarah and her family lived in Omaha, NE until 2001, when they moved to Springfield VA in the Washington DC area. Sarah and her family moved to Port Orchard WA in 2014.

Sarah attended public school special needs programs in Springfield, VA and Port Orchard, WA. She graduated from South Kitsap High School in 2021. Following high school graduation, Sarah attended the Easterseals Adult Day Program in East Bremerton Monday-Wednesday and worked as a greeter at Josephine’s in Port Orchard on Thursdays and Fridays.

Individual ‘small’ things collectively made her life big and meaningful to those who knew her:
– Her gap-toothed smile, the playful twinkle in her eye, and her infectious laugh.
– Times when she’d get ‘rummy’- frenetically laughing so hard she could hardly draw a breath.
– Her fixed, far-off gazes. Her friend Barbara used to say that she could see and laugh with the angels. We don’t know if that was true then, but we know it’s true now.
– Her furrowed brow when bemused by something new – as if she were saying “I don’t know about that”.
– Her amused laughs at her mom’s crazy cheering during Seahawks games.
–and her brother-in-law Josh’s even crazier cheering during Buckeye games.
– Always staying awake on road trips while her brother and sister always fell asleep. Sarah loved seeing every mile roll by.
– Her joy at playing with her nephew Thomas, he always brought a smile to her face
– Making her smile by giving her a big hug.
– Making her smile by crawling over her in bed to retrieve a toy that had fallen to the floor on the far side.
– Her happiness attending big gatherings of friends and family, the more the merrier.
– Ripping the paper off presents
– The rare joy of receiving a ‘Sarah hug’- when she would lock her hands together around someone.
– People who didn’t ignore her – who purposefully greeted her and tried to interact with her.
– Her non-stop button-pushing of her favorite musical toys.
– Her zero patience for stuffed animals-comically pushing or throwing them away.
– Her excitement at hearing the ‘beep beep beep’ of her bus backing into the driveway.
– Her grin of recognition at her mom or dad’s voice when she returned on the bus.
– Her initial bemusement and then grin of recognition when her mom or dad would show up in her classroom or somewhere else unexpected.
– Dressing her in silly hats and watching her immediately pull them off.
– The way she would laugh when she’d hear other people yelling or babies crying.
– The way she’d jump at sudden loud noises. The way her mom would try
to pre-alert her ‘Sarah, loud noise.’
– Her ‘big stretch’ and contented sigh after getting back in bed after a long day at school or work
– Rolling over and giving us a big smile every morning when we entered her room.
– The love and care shown by her teachers – they were all so good to her. Special needs teachers are truly special people.
– The touching video her teachers from Key Center School in Virginia made of her when her family left for WA in 2014.
– The happy and funny stories her teachers shared about her at her high school graduation party.
– The love, care, and dedication of Amber, her respite care nurse, who reliably cared for her every Saturday and on other family occasions for so many years - who was like another sister to her.
– The warm and loving happy birthday wishes written by her teammates at Josephine’s on the inside cover of a book they gave her on her last birthday.
– The gracious willingness of friends and family to help watch Sarah so her mom and dad had a chance to periodically get away together.

Dear, precious Sarah,
We say goodbye for now. We are grief stricken and heartbroken, but our hearts are also full, grateful to God for the beautiful person He allowed us to know and love for 23 wonderful years. We know that with time, this sharp pain of grief will dull and subside but it will never completely leave until we meet again in heaven. To paraphrase a fine old hopeful song, our family will remember our grief, trials and troubles no more when we see your unbroken, glorified body sitting and waiting for us on the far side of Jordan, rising up and shouting with joy when you see us, and running through the shallow water reaching for our hands.

Sarah is survived by her parents, Carroll and Tim Olson. By her older sister, Johanna (Olson) Laney, and twin brother, John Olson. And by her grandmothers, Suzanne Rueter and Rosaaen Olson.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Easterseals