Sarah Bower Perry passed away peacefully on January 18, 2025. The family would like to express their deepest gratitude for the compassionate care and love provided by the Arc of Madison County, the Huntsville Hospital, and the Huntsville Hospital Hospice Care during the last months of her life. Sarah was born a special needs (Down Syndrome) child in 1969 and raised in the San Francisco Bay area of California. Her loving parents, Barbara and Ralph Perry and older siblings, Karen (Dieter), Foster (Vally), Kim (Brad), and Mary (Wayne) played a significant role in her development as a healthy and active young woman. As a toddler, Sarah also had a faithful Golden Retriever companion, Phoebe Jane, who could always find Sarah when she would sneak out to visit the neighbors. Sarah learned to read and write thanks to the educational opportunities in California at the Bing Preschool at Stanford University, the Almond Elementary School in Los Altos, and the St. Vincent residential school in Santa Barbara for adolescents with developmental disabilities.
Sarah was a true ‘California Party Girl” who loved music and dancing. Her favorite singer and dancer was Michael Jackson. She had an opportunity to meet him when attending school in Santa Barbara in the 1980’s. She also attended various parties and proms with “boyfriends” Danny in California and Steve in Middlebury, Vermont. Sarah also loved going to concerts and the movies.
Our Dad taught her how to swim as a toddler which led to a competitive career as a Special Olympics Athlete. She was a skilled swimmer and cross-country skier in her youth and as an adult. Her competition experiences included Special Olympics National and International competitions in California, Vermont, Alabama, Canada, and Ireland.
Sarah loved getting a paycheck and worked many years in California, Vermont, and Alabama. Her employers included various restaurants, Middlebury College, the Otter Creek Brewery, the Counseling Services of Addison County, and the Arc of Madison County. She also volunteered with her parents at the Porter Medical Center in Middlebury.
Sarah was predeceased by her parents and an older brother she never knew, Robb. She is survived by her siblings, Karen (Dieter) in Germany, Foster (Vally) in Alabama, Kim (Brad) in Vermont, and Mary (Wayne) in California. She was also a loving and mischievous Aunt to 4 nieces, Anja, Kristina, Annegret, Lindsay; and 8 nephews, Dirk, Krystopher, Jerod, Nicholas, Jonathan, Ricky, Tim, Tyler.
A visitation and celebration of Sarah’s Life will be held at the Laughlin Service Funeral Home at 2320 Bob Wallace Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35805 on Saturday, February 8, 2025, from 1-3 pm.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Arc of Madison County at 1100 Washington Street, NW. Huntsville, Alabama or via website: www.hsvarc.org
