Sara Alice Van Pelt

Sara Alice Van Pelt, beloved by her family and many devoted friends, found peace Friday, May 18th after more than three years of relentless struggle against ovarian cancer. In typical Sara style, she fought her battle with strength, grace and dignity, treating each day as the gift that it was, never losing hope.

Sara spent her last weeks in the home that she loved in Suwanee, GA, near the city she loved--Atlanta. At her side were her parents and her two pups, Holly and Maggie, as well as her team of truly remarkable hospice caregivers.

She will be sorely missed by her mother Eleanor (Penny) Van Pelt and her father Charlie Van Pelt of St. Johns, FL., as well as her brother Chuck Van Pelt and his wife Alex Van Pelt and their daughter Juniper and son Evan, who reside in Happy Valley, OR. Sara is also survived by a large and loving extended family including her grandmother, Martha Van Pelt and very many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Sara attended the University of Cincinnati after graduating from High School in Milford, OH. She was employed at age 16 at Kings Island Theme Park near Cincinnati and there found her joy in the field of family entertainment. In 2007 she became Director of Merchandise Operations at Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC. Not long after that she joined Herschend Family Entertainment in Atlanta, where she rose through the ranks to become Senior Vice President-On Grounds Revenue. She loved her “work family” and was grateful for the opportunity to live her dream there.

Sara cherished her family, her pups and an army of devoted friends and coworkers who supported her in her remarkable efforts to defeat cancer. Sara was born with a naturally generous spirit and shared the fruits of her success with those around her. She was a vigorous fan of many team sports, football especially, and in spite of having season seats for Atlanta Falcons games, she never apologized for being true to her first real love, the Cincinnati Bengals.

Sara was a woman of unrelenting faith and believed that her life on earth was only the beginning of her journey.

Rock on Sara!!!

A Memorial Service and celebration of Sara’s life will be held in Atlanta, GA, but plans are not yet finalized. The date of the service will be announced at a later time.

Rather than sending flowers, those who wish to honor Sara’s memory are encouraged to do so by making a donation to OCRA (Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance) which funds Ovarian Cancer research studies at cancer research centers across America. For information and to make donations online, please go to ocrahope.org