Sarah Levine

Sarah Brooks Sheppard Levine, of Waco, died Easter Sunday surrounded by her family.

After a sensible acceptance of her cancer, Sarah chose to spend her remaining time under hospice care at home among her family and friends.

A memorial service will be 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 7, at First Presbyterian Church, 1100 Austin Avenue, with the Rev. Brad St. Romain officiating. Visitation will be 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, at the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 515 Columbus Avenue.

Sarah was born Dec. 2, 1947, the younger daughter of Jane Dossett Brooks and J Leigh Brooks. She was a lifelong member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church where she served on the vestry, was a delegate to diocesan council, a Sunday school teacher and for a number of years was employed as the director of Episcopal Young Churchman for the members of all three Episcopal churches in Waco.

Sarah and Michael Levine were married April 21, 2002, and since then she has been a well-loved and active participant at Temple Rodef Sholom.

Sarah was a graduate of Baylor University and was director of marketing for the Mayborn Museum.

Prior to her employment at Baylor, she spent seventeen years with the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau as Director of Tourism. Sarah was given the Tall in Texas award by the Texas Travel Industry Association in 2001 in recognition of her outstanding contributions and leadership.

She served as a tutor in the Waco Public School system and taught in the Headstart Program. She served on the board of directors of Waco Planned Parenthood and was committed to the their mission. She was a member of the Rotary Club, and she and Michael served as a host family for the program for Baylor International Students. She loved flowers, gardening, and cooking, and was especially known for decorating memorable cakes.

Sarah was a kind, gentle and a compassionate soul loved by all who knew her. She was a born giver following in the footsteps of her father and a hostess extraordinaire in the tradition of her family.

Sarah was preceded in death by her parents; her nephew Andrew Bateman; and her great niece, Camellia Indergard. She is survived by her husband, Mike; her daughters, Jennie Sheppard of Waco and Susannah Sheppard Benner and husband, Bob Benner, of Concord, Mass.; her grandchildren, Ben Sheppard, Pete, Nora, Lela and Ned Benner; her sister and brother in law, Alethea and Piers Bateman of Waco; cousin, like a sister, Dr. Francie Kendall and her partner, Marquita Chambree of Albany, Calif.; sister-in-law, Paula Levine and husband, Dr. Bernard Beitman of Charlottesville, VA; nieces and nephews, Laura and Mike Indergard, Giles and Jennifer Bateman, Aaron Beitman of Washington D.C., Karlen Beitman of Chicao, Ill.; great-nieces and nephews, Brooks and Juliet Indergard, Sarah and Lucy Jane Bateman; and her beloved Labradoodle, Bucky. Additional survivors include aunts and uncles, Frances Dossett Swann of Tyler, Cullen Smith and Mary Martha Dossett, both of Waco, Louis Gohmert of Mount Pleasant, and Robert Shryock of Denver, Colo.; and a host of cousins.

The family is grateful to Kim Smith and Hillcrest Community Hospice, Ella McCoy and Flora Estes, all of whom cared for her with gentleness and compassion and who comforted and guided her family caregivers.

In lieu of flowers, Sarah asked that memorial gifts be sent to St. Paul's Episcopal Day School, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, The Mayborn Museum, or to the charity of choice.