Sara De Ann May

On Sept. 30, 2012, with her family by her side, Sara DeAnn May passed from this life and moved on to spend eternity with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. A private interment for family preceded a Celebration of her life on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. at Grace Bible Church Southwood (1901 Harvey Mitchel Parkway South, College Station, TX).


Sara was born on May 29, 1985 and grew up in College Station, TX, the daughter of Kathy Brown May of College Station and Michael May of Houston.   Sara attended College Station schools and graduated from A&M Consolidated High School in 2004.  She was a member of the A&M Church of Christ.

Though brief, Sara lived a full and happy life.  She never met a stranger and always greeted everyone with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.  No matter where one would be with her, Sara always encountered people who knew her.   Her radiant smile brightened the day for all.  Sara loved to tease – always in fun and showing her love for whoever was the target of her teasing at that time.  Sara was independent and adventurous – had a glorious sense of humor and faced new challenges with incredible strength.  One could only feel good when they were with her.

While in school, Sara was active in numerous activities, including Special Olympics, Challenger Baseball and Basketball, Girl Scouts and Project Sunshine.  During her high school years, Sara worked on the A&M campus at Pi R Squared and received the Outstanding Student Worker award.  Sara enjoyed all types of card games and loved to read – her computer was one of her closest friends.

Sara’s compassion and concern for others are readily seen throughout her life.  One year, as her family was getting ready to attend the Annual International Family Conference for families of children who have Cockayne Syndrome, Sara decided that she wanted to take a crocheted lap blanket for every child at the conference.  Quite a task for sure, but Sara made this project important to others – co-staff members of Mom Kathy crocheted every lunch time for weeks and Sara got her wish for as many blankets as were needed.  Crocheting was a true love for Sara – untold numbers of blankets were made for graduations, birthdays, weddings, new babies.  And she delighted in picking out just the right colors for each of them.

Sara loved camping and relished the freedom she had riding her bicycle across many of the Texas state parks.  When a lake was in the picture, Sara delighted in riding the jet ski with big brother, Chris.  Sara’s love of camping extended to her summers at the Lions’ Club, Camp Barnabus and Camp of the Hills where she accepted Christ into her life.  Sara also loved to travel and in recent years has been to Hawaii, Alaska and Europe.  There were very few challenges that were too much for her!

Sara touched and blessed all who knew her, most particularly her Aggies who in recent years were her daytime caregivers.  She taught these girls to enjoy life no matter what difficulties they had to face.  Sara also gave these gals a deep understanding of special needs kids - they cherished Sara and were often with her even when they were not working.  Her Aggies also brought much to Sara’s life – with shopping trips, manicures, sporting events at TAMU, out to lunch, and on and on.  Many of them included Sara in their bridal parties, as a bridesmaid.  Sara treasured each of these times.  A number of her Aggies went on to major in special education and they had an incredibly strong instinct for working with special needs children.

All those who knew Sara are now dealing with an incredible sense of loss.  She meant so much to her family and friends and taught all of us that we should always tackle challenges, that anything is possible even in the face of difficulty, and that one must face life with good humor and care for others.

Left behind to celebrate Sara’s life are her mother, Kathy, and father, Michael, and her loving brother, Chris, as well as, her dear  Papa,  William T. Brown, her Aunt J (Judy Frazier), paternal grandmother, Loraine Smith, and her cousin Brian Frazier, and all who knew her.  Predeceasing Sara were her maternal grandmother Meme Delois Brown and her paternal grandfather, Walter Smith.

Sara’s family thanks the staff of Dr. Michael Jones practice and Dr. Jones for their help and concern over the years, MHMR and D & S Residential Home Care.  The family was touched by the care and love Sara received from Hospice Brazos Valley, and all they did to ease the recent days for the family.  The family would also like to thank the hundreds of wonderful and compassionate young Aggie women who brought such joy to Sara’s life.  They became part of her life with grace and understanding.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Sara May Special Education Scholarship to be sent to the A&M Foundation  (Texas A&M Foundation, 4222 TAMU College Station, TX   77843-4222), which will benefit undergraduates majoring in Special Education.