Sara Weaver

May 17, 1941 - Nov. 18, 2023

Sara Lou Weaver (Fox), 82, passed away on November 18. She was born on May 17, 1941, in Hagerstown, MD. She is survived by her daughters Mary and Rebecca (Becky), Becky’s wife Katherine, many friends from Westminster Congregational United Church of Christ, Bridgewater College, and from all over Spokane and the U.S. Her family had deep roots in the Church of the Brethren and in Pennsylvania and Maryland. When she was 10 years old, she was severely burned in a Christmas Eve service and spent three years in the hospital, receiving cards and well wishes from across the country, including from actors such as Hopalong Cassidy. When she was released from the hospital, she got her first color TV and would soon be seen on it as a guest on Betty White’s TV talk show. Her experience in those years deeply influenced her life and guided her to graduate from high school with honors and major in philosophy and religion at Bridgewater College in Virginia (B.A. 1964). Hoping to become a hospital chaplain, she received an M.Div. from Bethany Seminary in 1968, There she met James Weaver and they married after graduating. He served churches in Ohio and Indiana before becoming a librarian. During Expo ’74, they moved to Spokane and soon found Westminster, which became Sara’s church home for almost fifty years. Sara was whip-smart with a deeply ironic sense of humor and a ready quick quip. She enjoyed reading widely, watching British television, and Advent & Christmas: the music, the gift-giving, the lights, the decorations, the church sanctuary, Bob Crachit, and Rudolph, all of it. She cared deeply about her family, her cats, her church community, and her friends, and was always passionate about peace and social justice. Though she worked in retail, she gave what she could: she donated time and money to various causes, helped the church’s ministries in the city, and attended rallies and vigils and interfaith services. She helped edit The Fig Tree (an ecumenical peace and justice newspaper), and marched with Westminster in Spokane’s Pride parade, including the very first one in 1992. There will be a Christmas-themed celebration of Sara’s life on December 27, 2023, at 11 a.m., followed by a salad reception, at Westminster United Church of Christ, 411 S Washington St., Spokane, WA 99204. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations may be made in Sara’s honor to Westminster’s camp scholarship fund, The Foot and Mouth Artists, or St. Joseph’s Indian School. Sara will become earth through Earth Funeral’s soil transformation process, and her earth will aid the reforesting of conservation land in the Olympic peninsula. Trees may also be planted in her memory through One Tree Planted (link below). Inquiries about the service can be directed to Westminster UCC, (509) 624-1366 / / office@westminsterucc.org