Obituary of Sarah Brown Steuteville

Sarah Brown Steuteville, 54, of Ithaca, New York, died peacefully at her home on Friday evening surrounded by her family after a long illness. Sarah was born March 22, 1962, on the submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, to parents Parke L. Brown Jr. and Shiela Lloyd Brown. Her mother predeceased her when Sarah was 3. In 1968, she and her two sisters helped form a blended family of seven children when her father married a widow, Karen Snow Brown, in Gales Ferry, Connecticut. Two more children completed the family of nine children who were raised in Potomac, Maryland. Sarah received her BA degree from Bryn Mawr College, during which time she spent her junior year in France. She joined Riggs Bank in Washington, DC, as an assistant vice president in the international department, overseeing loans to the Caribbean, North Africa, and Latin America. She later completed a masters degree in international forestry at Virginia Tech and worked as a land manager at Capon Springs and Farms, a family run resort in West Virginia. After meeting her husband, Robert Steuteville, Sarah moved to Ithaca, New York, and began raising a family. Sarah served as a member of the Ithaca Natural Areas Commission, started Ithaca Girl Scout Troop 662, chaired the Community Advisory Group for cleanup and planning of the Ithaca Gun site, and was active in other local causes.. For a while she ran the children's service at St. John's Episcopal Church, where she was an active member. Sarah managed accounting and payroll for New Urban Publications Inc. for approximately 15 years. She also worked as a tax preparer at H&R Block and in customer support at Cayuga Landscape. Sarah was an active gardener and enjoyed food preparing and processing. She loved all things out of doors, especially hiking and camping in beautiful places and traveling to see close friends and family. She made regular trips to England to see cousins and her grandmother on her birth mother's side of the family. She is survived by her husband Rob and daughters Robin and Skye, parents Karen and Parke Brown, and seven brothers and sisters: David, Linda, Richard, Christopher, Rachel, and Andrew Brown, and Julie (Sean) Allanach. She is predeceased by a sister, Laurie Oliver. She has eight nieces and nephews and seven brothers- and sisters-in-law. A memorial service will be held at 1 pm Saturday, March 18, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 210 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca, NY, the Rev. Barb Schmidt officiating. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Hospicare & Palliative Care Services of Ithaca, 172 East King Road, Ithaca NY 14850, or the Cancer Resource Center of The Finger Lakes, 612 W State St, Ithaca, NY 14850