Category: Obituary: S

The Rev. Dr. Robert “Bob” E. Senghas died on June 26, 2022, at the age of 94.

Bob is survived by his three sons: in Florida, Frederick Christian Senghas; in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, Edward Caiger Senghas and his wife Maureen Cotter; and in Vermont, Stuart Bailey Senghas and his wife Alicia Wein Senghas. He is also survived by Frederick’s children Matthew Senghas and Sarah Hall and Sarah’s husband Brian Hall and their daughter Emma; by Stuart’s children Nathan, Lydia, and Isaiah; and by many nieces and nephews and their children. In addition, he is survived by an identical twin brother, the Rev. Richard E. Senghas of Scarborough, Maine.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to one’s favorite charity. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences can be sent to Stuart Senghas, PO Box 36, Wolcott, VT 05680.

A more complete obituary will follow.

The Rev. Kenneth “Ken” W. Sawyer died on April 24, 2022, at the age of 77.

Ken is survived by his wife, Carol Sawyer, and by daughters, Amy Washek and Rebecca Howard.

A memorial service centered on Ken’s family, friends, and the First Parish in Wayland congregation will be held on May 21. A celebration of Ken’s ministry and service to Unitarian Universalism will be held later this fall.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the First Parish in Wayland, Ken Sawyer Unrestricted Endowment, P.O. Box 397, Wayland, MA 01778 or to the UU Urban Ministry, Attn. Annie Stubbs, 10 Putnam Street, Roxbury, MA 10019. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences can be sent to Carol Sawyer, 16 Orchard Lane, Wayland, MA 01778.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Rev. Dr. Judith “Judy” M. Smith-Valley died on November 16, 2021, at the age of 78.

Judy is survived by her children: son, Glenn Valley and his wife Heidi, of Bahama, NC; daughter, Libby Valley Cirillo and her husband Tony, of North Kingstown, RI; daughter, Susan Woodilla and her husband, Tad of Hermon, ME; son, Richard Smith and his wife, Barbara Dill of Norwood, NJ; grandchildren – Laura (Jon) Conway, Alison Valley, Amanda, Connor, Matthew, and Trevor Cirillo, Katie and Emily Woodilla, Dillon, Chelsea, and Aiden Smith; and great granddaughter Jackie; sister, Charlea Coterel of O’Fallon, Missouri; plus many nieces, nephews, friends and family who filled her heart with joy. She was preceded in death by her parents and her husbands, Terry Valley (1978) and Paul Smith-Valley (2017).

A celebration of life will be held in early 2022.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, 689 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 or to Project Linus. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry. 

Notes of condolences can be written here. Cards can be sent to all her children in care of Susan Woodilla, 29 Hermon Heights, Hermon, ME 04401.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed

Catherine M. Sterling died on October 25, 2021 at the age of 92. She was the widow of the Rev. Robert W. Sterling.

Catherine is survived by her sister, Margaret Mays of Chapel Hill, NC; son, David Sterling, and his wife, Karen, of Agawam, MA; son, Craig Sterling, of Wilder, VT; daughter, Barbara Sterling, of Wilder, VT; grandson, Alexander Sterling, of Leominster, MA; and nephew, David Le Shane, of Colorado Springs, CO.

No services are planned. Her family will hold a private ceremony in Danville, VT.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Catherine’s name to the charity of your choice. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to an appropriate charity in her memory.

Notes of condolence may be sent to her daughter, Barbara, in care of Catherine’s email.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

Robert Taliaferro Sorrells, spouse of the Reverend Dillman Baker Sorrells, died 2 May 2021 at age 88, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years. Born in New York City in 1932, Bob attended Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and then Vanderbilt University, which was interrupted for service in the U.S. Army. He returned to earn a degree in History and a Masters in English Literature from Vanderbilt. He subsequently earned an MFA in Creative Writing from the Writer’s Workshop at the University of Iowa.

Bob was a faculty member at Murray State University, Clemson University, and the University of Arkansas before leaving academia to focus on his writing. He published several books, including a book of short stories, The Blacktop Champion of Icky Honey, and a book of essays called On Breaking One’s Pencil. He was awarded a PEN/NEA Syndicated Fiction Award, and his work was often anthologized, including in The Best American Short Stories. Though he was primarily a fiction writer, Bob often said that a history he wrote of the Clemson University Experimental Forest was among the works of which he was most proud.

A long-time fan of the Atlanta Braves, he enjoyed listening to baseball on the radio, and wrote a short story about missing Hank Aaron’s 715^th  home run. He was also a great fan of the Clemson soccer team. He loved to walk for exercise and could often be seen striding briskly along the roads of Clemson.

Bob was a Unitarian Universalist for most of his adult life, and an early member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Clemson. A great enthusiast of music, he sang for many years in the UU choir and created Gifts of Music, a series that aired on South Carolina Public Radio.

Bob is survived by his children Walter Arl Sorrells and Ruth Lindsey Sorrells, both of Atlanta; his grandson Jake Alfred Robert Sorrells of New Orleans; and by his loving wife of 59 years, the Rev. Dillman Baker Sorrells of Clemson.

The Reverend Dr. Elizabeth Strong—impassioned religious educator, pastoral counselor, parish minister, and lifelong disciple and scholar of Universalism—died on 20 March 2021, aged 80-3⁄4.

In UU circles Liz Strong was widely known for her work in curriculum development, her personal presence with irrepressible energy, and her many awards. Ministerial colleagues Carol Taylor and Carol Haag wrote that with Liz’s death “Unitarian Universalism and liberal religious education lost a shining star.”

Elizabeth May Strong was born a third generation Universalist to Ashley Walter Strong and Marie Elizabeth Miller Strong on 17 June 1940 in Cooperstown, New York. Their church was central to family life. When Liz was asked—at age eight—what she believed, her answer was quick: “I believe God is love. Jesus is a teacher and friend. People are inherently good. There is truth I know and more that I will know. Service is required of me to live my faith, and in the end all will be well.” At age 13 she began teaching church school at the Old Stone Universalist Church in Schuyler Lake NY.

Liz earned a B.A. in liberal arts from Syracuse University (NY) in 1962. In the 1970s both her parents died, her marriage failed, and she underwent extensive back surgery, with a neck-to-hips body cast. Amid these losses and challenges, the indomitable Ms. Strong, now a single working mother of four children, completed her M.S. degree in elementary education and was named Director of Religious Education at Rochester’s First Unitarian Church. She was centrally active with others in developing the ordination track by which the UUA acknowledged a Ministry of Religious Education. In October 1983 she was ordained by her Rochester congregation and forthwith called as Minister of Religious Education.

In 1988, the Rev’d Ms. Strong accepted a call to the May Memorial UU Society in Syracuse (NY) as Minister of Religious Education. She completed a D.Min. program at Meadville Lombard in 2000. In 2001 she left May Memorial for a seven-year stint as RE Program Consultant for the Massachusetts Bay District. Liz took formal retirement from full-time work in 2008 but went on to her first and only service in parish ministry (2008–2013) as a part-time consulting minister to the First Parish Church of Ashby UU (MA), where she was named minister emerita in 2013 and continued to preach frequently as a pulpit guest into the final years of her life.

At her death Liz was survived by brother John Strong, sister Barbara Strong Vertucci, sons David and Douglas Taylor, daughters Shari Taylor–Lascano and Kathleen Taylor-Wallen, ten grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

An online memorial service was held on 8 May 2021. Memorial donations are encouraged to Planned Parenthood, or to the UUA. Notes of condolence may be sent to: Rev. Douglas Taylor, 19 Hodge Ave, Binghamton NY 13901.

The Rev. Shermie L. Schafer died on February 23, 2021 at the age of 78.

Shermie is survived by her sisters, Sue Medley and June Schafer, and their children; her stepson, Kai McLaughlin; her German Shepherd, Rika; and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, infant sister, and brother William L. Schafer.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the German Shepherd Rescue Indy or to PBS. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences may be sent to the family of Rev. Shermie Schafer, care of Neptune Society, 4825 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana, 46240.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Rev. Bertrand H. Steeves died on September 18, 2020 at the age of 94.

He is survived by his wife, Maxine (Hertel) Steeves; his children Jonathan Steeves and children, Stephanie, Samantha, and Justin and their mother Debra (Baikewicz) Steeves; his daughter Kathryn Steeves and her husband, Stephen, and their children, Nathaniel and Jacob; his son Christopher Steeves and husband Thomas Brewer.

A memorial service was planned to be held on Nov. 20, 2021 at 2:00 pm at the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, Newburyport, MA. The service will be in person.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, of Newburyport, MA, where Bertrand served as minister from 1956-1991, and Link House, which he helped found. UURMaPA will contribute $50 to the UUMA Endowment Fund in honor of our colleague’s ministry.

Notes of condolences may be sent to the family of Rev. Bertrand H. Steeves in care of the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, of Newbury, MA.

A more complete obituary will be forthcoming after biographical research has been completed.

The Rev. Dr. Glen Snowden died on June 21, 2020, at the age of 87.