Sarah Ellen Bucher Myers

She was the first child of her parents, Samuel Jacob and Margaret Mae (Mininger) Bucher.

She was joined by three siblings, Samuel Jonathan (Esther Shenk), Morinville, Alberta, Canada, Mary Beth (Lester Lind), Philippi, West Virginia, and Joseph Daniel (Judy Pierantoni), Harman, West Virginia.

At 14 months of age, she moved from Pennsylvania to a small, mountainous, rural community in West Virginia for her father to be the doctor for the large remote area.

Fond memories of those growing up years include exploring the natural beauty of the area on truck trips; sitting on hay bales and benches in the back of a pick-up truck with family and friends and with a big, delicious, picnic lunch packed in boxes under the benches, she was introduced to and fell in love with nature and the Creator.

She was a member of the first class to go through all 12 grades in the new Harman School, graduating with 23 others in 1963.

Throughout her life she nurtured many friendships. As a young girl she had 30 pen pals. After a week at Laurelville Mennonite Camp’s girls camp in 1957, she began a friendship with three other girls that called themselves the Foursome. This friendship enriched and blessed her life for over 68 years.

During college at Eastern Mennonite College (University now) she married Herbert E. Myers Jr. on Sept. 4, 1965, in a beautiful outdoor wedding.

Joyfully they welcomed three daughters to their family, Karen Lynne (Sue Blauch), Brenda Ivonne (Greg Shaub) and Susan Janelle (Jason Benner).

Sarah and Herb have been blessed with seven grandchildren, Jordon, Christina, Kali, Tyler, Nora (deceased), Alida and Terah; plus a great-grandson, Myles.

Sarah’s life was filled with many adventures including teaching child development in an inner city high school in Philadelphia, living in Aibonito, Puerto Rico for two years and Jackson, Mississippi, for eight years, and helping to develop an intentional community in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, known as Arbour Fellowship.

In midlife she returned to college, got a degree in occupational therapy, and began working in the area of mental health. Her most fulfilling work was helping to develop Compeer Lancaster, a program that matches community volunteers with persons recovering from mental illness in a one-to-one friendship.

Following a diagnosis of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2001, she received a stem cell transplant with cells from her only sister as part of a clinical trial at National Institutes of Health in 2003. For 22 years she was cancer free until being diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer in March 2025.

In retirement, she and Herb moved to West Virginia in 2010. During the next 13 years she shared her gift of hospitality with many who came to stay at their Mountain House of Hope. Being able to introduce and share with others the awesome beauty of the West Virginia hills gave her much joy. Her picnics in some of the most remote places are legendary. For her, a really good day was being able to eat all three meals outside and each in a different place.

She loved creating with her hands whether weaving on her loom, arranging wildflower bouquets, kneading whole grain yeast breads, making candles out of old wax, writing notes of encouragement to others, or knitting prayer shawls.

Hiking with her beloved Herb while visiting all the West Virginia State Parks and completing all but two of the trails on the Western Slope of the Massanutten filled many happy hours for her. Her favorite season was winter. West Virginia was known to gift her with snow in any month from October to May.

Her faith was a most important part of her life. She never doubted her connection to God. She was active in the church wherever they lived, most recently Shalom Mennonite Congregation of Harrisonburg, Virginia, where she served on the pastoral care team and in the prayer shawl ministry.

Believing that your attitude writes the script of your life, she lived joyfully and lightly on the earth, accepting and finding meaning and blessing in all of life’s journey, until she died at home surrounded by family on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, knowing that whether she lived or died, she was in God’s hands.

Services will be announced at a later date.

Condolences may be shared at kygers.com.