May 25, 1952 – April 27, 2021

Sarah Darling Pruett passed away peacefully on April 27, 2021 at her home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado surrounded by her loving family. She was 68.

Sarah was born to Nelson and Ruth (LaCroix) Darling on May 25, 1952 in Boston, MA. She graduated from Lesley College in 1977 with a degree in early childhood education. After graduation she embarked on a trip around the world and paused for a break in Steamboat Springs for 43 years.

Sarah’s early days in Steamboat were filled with adventure: river trips, guiding backcountry ski trips for Mountaincraft, and fishing and camping in the Zirkels. She supported these adventures by teaching preschool and selling fresh seafood from the trunk of her car on 3rd and Lincoln. Her business partner (and father) would air freight the fresh catches directly from the harbor in Marblehead, MA. The epicures and restaurateurs of Steamboat thought they had died and gone to heaven!

On one particular river trip Sarah joined a fellow adventurer named Bob Pruett. She rode along with him in his dory. It didn’t take long for them to decide they were on the same wavelength and they spent nearly 40 years together. They were married in Swampscott, MA on September 11, 1982.

Sarah knew from early on that she wanted to be a mother. She fulfilled that wish in raising and wrangling her four children Walker, Amy, Nick, and Jena. Her most fulfilling experiences were serving as a parent volunteer in her childrens’ classrooms where she mostly kept everyone in line. This experience evolved into a years-long service on the board of the Lowell Whiteman Primary School. She found community among fellow soccer and tennis players and her children’s hockey and gymnastics pursuits. She found peace in the natural environment of Strawberry Park and in gardening and cultivating plants indoors and out.

In 2003 she and her family returned for a time to live in Swampscott, MA where she continued to serve her community in many roles: Treasurer of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn, Trustee of Swampscott Public Library, serving on the Open Space Committee, advocating for the Rail Trail, and volunteering with Girls Inc of Lynn. She became a certified Orton-Gillingham tutor and helped children who struggled with reading. On Friday afternoons she would enjoy a standing engagement with family and friends at the Boston Symphony Orchestra matinee.

Sarah was preceded in death by her nephew Sammy, her brother Morris, and her mother Ruth. She is survived by her father Nelson; her siblings Bill, Esther, Tom, and Jeannette and their families; her husband Bob; and her children Walker, Amy, Nick, and Jena. She has four grandchildren. There will be a service this summer when the weather is better and we can party in a way that would make her proud.

In lieu of flowers please send a donation to one of her many charitable causes:

Girls Inc of Lynn: girlsinclynn.org

Routt County United Way: routtcountyunitedway.org

Northwest Colorado Health: northwestcoloradohealth.org