Sarah Jeanne Stahlke
Surrounded by the love of her family, Sarah Jeanne Stahlke passed peacefully from this life on Wednesday, August 7, 2024.
Left with a lifetime of memories are her beloved children Chloe Wall, Olivia Wall (Blake Fallis), and Adam Wall, and their father, Dan Wall. Her legacy lives on through her sweet grandson, Owen, the light of her life. Sarah will be deeply missed by her father, Lester Stahlke (Judy Bauer), sister Mary Stahlke Schuurman (Tim Schuurman), and brothers Thom Stahlke (Sherry) and Paul Stahlke (Kim), and her extended family. Sarah was predeceased by her mother, Paula Stahlke, in 2001.
Sarah lived her life to the fullest. Filled with curiosity and a thirst for adventure, she was a sociologist, a tenured professor, a commercial pilot, and a registered nurse. She was an Ironman triathlete, and she loved exploring nature, open-water swimming, cycling, hiking, camping, and traveling. Each of Sarah's interests reflected a different aspect of her personality: she loved exploring places, ideas, and theories, challenging herself, and effecting change in people and organizations. Always one to embrace challenges, Sarah accomplished many outstanding feats in her life. Tragically, her time was cut short before she could realize more of her dreams and aspirations.
Sarah had a keen sense of social justice, and she believed strongly that people should uplift others. In her eyes, everyone had an innate wisdom that could guide them; she was skilled at fostering people’s belief in themselves. She treasured her close friendships and the relationships she made with people from all walks of life.
We will be commemorating Sarah’s life on Monday, August 19 at 3:00 pm at the Diwan Pavilion, Aga Khan Garden at the University of Alberta Botanic Gardens (5 km north of Devon on Hwy 60). All who knew Sarah or her family are welcome.
Sarah was a lifelong learner who loved to mentor and support others in their development. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the "Dr. Sarah Stahlke Memorial Graduate Award in Sociology" at the University of Alberta (uabgive.ca/tribute) or to Doctors Without Borders (action.msf.ca).
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined.” - Henry David Thoreau
What an amazing life, well lived and a wonderful, continuing legacy for those left behind. Our love and blessings to you and your family, Chloe.
Sarah was a fiesty lady. She will be missed. My condolences to her family.
This is such a beautiful summary of Sarah’s life and contributions. She was an amazing person and we loved our times with her. I will always treasure the Canada Day weekends in Olds, AB., when you would all come down and crash on the floor for the weekend. We had such fun together. Sarah was the kind of person who made you feel special. When you talked to her, she had a way of truly listening and making you feel important. She was a tremendous conversationalist and always had such interesting insights. Our love goes out to each member of the family.
Love Mark & Kara
May Sarah’s suffering in life be ended and may she rest in peace. I was sad to read this obituary and am sending loving thoughts to her family. Sarah and I never met in person but I knew of her through Dan Wall. I have followed this family’s love and adventure over the years since Dan and I met in 2000. May each of you find comfort in the memories you will always carry in your heart. Please accept my condolences, Michèle Luit 12Aug2024
Such a beautiful spirit. I will miss her physical presence in the world but I meet her at every turn in the work that I do, the dreams I live. My tender condolences to you who were so much a part of her as she is of you.
Sending Love to Sarah’s loved ones. Oh how she loved you all 💜 she will be dearly missed.
My husband Joe and I met Sarah only once, a couple of years ago, but we have heard so much about her from Chloe, and now from the beautiful obituary which seems to summarise well the impression we’ve gained over the years. What a vivid life and personality, and what a great loss to family, friends, and colleagues. Love to you, Chloe, and condolences to Olivia, Adam, and Dan, and to all who share your loss.
It was such a pleasure to work with Sarah during her brief time with us. I loved her spark and positive, can-do attitude. Condolences to her much-loved family and friends.
I am so sorry to learn of Sarah’s passing. When I was a little girl, she was always deeply kind to me. I will never forget dressing up like a ballerina and playing with her in the backyard. It is clear that she lived her life to the fullest and embraced learning and adventure of all kinds.
May her family be comforted by memories of the times you spent together. Rest in peace, Sarah.
“The song is ended but the melody lingers on.”
I’m so sorry for your loss. I knew Sarah for many years at UofA, and I am just so sorry to hear she’s passed. She was genuinely a joy to have around. May her light bring you comfort in the days to come. She was very loved.
Sarah and I had opportunity recently for coffee and a visit. I am so glad we did. I knew Sarah when her family lived in Ft McMurray and we have always shared a gift of laughter. Condolences to her family.
We are so sorry you informing us of the devastating news about Sarah/s passing, Lester. Please accept our deepest sympathy. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and Judy, Mary, Thom and Paul and their families. We have fond memories of Sarah being a good friends to our girls in the Steele Heights neighborhood, they shared wonderful days playing together on a daily basis. Condolences to you and your extended family and may time heal your loss.
I’m so sorry to learn of Sarah’s passing. I am fortunate to say I was able to work with Sarah, as she was kind enough to participate on my sociology specialization committee. She was kind and encouraging, provided me with invaluable insight, and was generous with her time and knowledge. Sadly, I had not been back in touch with Sarah since, but I am grateful for the time she gave me and have fond memories of working with her. All my best to her family and friends; you are in my thoughts.
Sarah was a good friend and I’m so grateful I met her and had the pleasure of working and flying with her. She will always be inspiring and my heart goes out to her family and friends.
My sincerest condolences to the Wall and Stahlke families for your bewildering loss. May your memories and love sustain you through this very difficult time.
I was so sad to hear of Sarah’s passing. We had many many fun times together when we were very young. Working together as volunteers at the General Hospital and many nights packing the Lamplighter. She will be missed by many. Sending my condolences to the entire Stahke family.
I just wanted to thank Sarah and her family for her many years of service and support to the Namao Flying Club. She will be missed around the hangar and in the air but her impact on all of us will live on. ❤️🩹
I knew Sarah from the Namao flying club, where she held positions as an instructor and on the Board. Sarah took a special interest in my son as a new pilot and took extra time to answer his questions. Her encouragement and patience was a blessing. I am deeply saddened by this loss.
We met Sarah only a couple of times a few years ago as she was our daughter Anna’s flying instructor. She was so friendly and kind with lots of energy. We really appreciated the confidence, encouragement and support she gave Anna. She was truly an inspiration for all girls wanting to fly and do anything they put their minds to. This is incredibly, devastating news and so hard to comprehend. Our hearts go out to her family and friends as they deal with this tragedy.
I offer my condolences to Sarah’s family. She was a great pilot and will be deeply missed by all. You are in our prayers Sarah.
How often is it that you have the receipts?
The first time you meet someone, how often do you write down the day? And from there on, logging the time you spend together?
I met Sarah on March 15 2022. It says so in my book. On that day It had been over 10 months since I’d last flown. It says that too. No one needs to tell you about her warmth, you certainly knew if you’d ever met her. We hopped in a plane, what better place to have a chat? 1.4 hours.
I had only ever flown with one other pilot to that point, in a flurry of activity the spring before I had logged as many hours as I was able to fly. I had confidence unearned. She was there to reign me in, and keep me in check. “Don’t slip too close down to the runway Ben.” “Is this too much crosswind?, maybe we should ask for runway 2/6” I appreciated that about her, she made me feel like a daredevil.
Sarah was an absolute joy to be around. I always looked forward to our lessons and we spent more than our fair share of time chatting about nothing and everything. I was always impressed with her, and she was always humble.
You know that anxiety of taking a road trip with someone you don’t know well? The worry of whether it will be awkward? Maybe it’s just me. I had none of that anxiety though before my journeys with Sarah. When we were flying circuits I often would rush through my downwind checks so we could get back to our conversation. When I got better I enjoyed feathering the controls and drifting just a little on final, waiting for her hand to come up to tell me to stay on the centerline but making the correction before she could speak the words. She laughed when I knew what to do just before she said it, and I never told her it was intentional. 1.2 hours most days.
When it came time for our cross countries I was as excited about the journey as I was to have those long miles to chat. Sarah had this way of making you feel good about yourself. We would fly, and we would chat, and she felt like family. We flew a longer route, down southwest to Drayton. I never knew you could see the mountains from elevation down there. 2.5 hours.
There are small indications that a relationship has grown from professional to a friendship. I remember feeling pride when she called for advice on a house she was considering buying, and we chatted for longer than you should need to say “don’t buy the bad foundation house unless you like risk more than my flight instructor should”. 0.75 hours.
I hadn’t seen Sarah in many months. I had moved away to BC, she was back and forth from Saskatchewan. The last time I saw her I wanted to give her a hug goodbye, but she was with another student and I settled for “Make sure to look me up when you come to Kelowna, we’ll go fly floats”.
0.2 hours.
All said and done I spend less than 40 hours with Sarah. 22 for which I have the receipts. I came to consider her a dear friend in that short time. I will cherish the memory of our adventures. I’ll raise a glass and retell my favourite stories (including one of her own and a snowy stranding), and send all those who loved and cared for her all my warmest heartfelt wishes – in true Stahlke Style.
Love, from Ben
Couldn’t have said it better, myself, Ben. I had the receipts, too. Sarah was a friend, a guide, and a leader. I’m going to miss her.
Sarah I will miss you. You were one of those genuinely nice people and you could bring out the best in everyone.I’m blessed to have called you a friend. My deepest condolences to your family.
I am so sorry for your loss. Sarah was a force of nature and one of the smartest people I ever met. She will be missed.
These are such sad news, I cant believed this is real, Sarah was my instructor for many months she was so patient and kind to me, we shared so much time together up in the sky. She was such a big source of confidence for me to keep going and keep trying to achieve my dreams, this news are so sad. Everytime I fly and I get closer to the stars I will know she is there guiding me with her warm smile and kind advice. Rest in peace Sarah
DAVID FOSTER on August 19/24 at 11:38
Danny, Chloe, Olivia and Adam. We are so sorry for your loss. We always enjoyed meeting and having conversations with Sarah. She was polite, articulate and could/ would engage in a wide range of interesting topics. Always open minded and pragmatic. Sarah was always concerned about people and helpful. She was determined with a will to achieve her goals which were significant and demonstrated with PHD, an instructor pilot and an Ironman. She was accomplished within her own goals but more importantly she was a great mom. Sarah set an example for us all to be pragmatic, be helpful, and be accomplished. We will miss her and our conversations with her. Sarah through no fault of her own was dealt difficult disease but through that she remained practical and faced it with courage. She was Sarah, she will not be forgotten
Dear families Stahlke and Wall,
I’m sad to hear about the passing away of Sarah. Her bright eyes, beautiful smile, motivation to tackle just about anything as well as her love for her family is what I noticed when I first met her and is what I will remember.
My thoughts are with you in this time of great loss.
I wanted to leave a quick note to say how sorry I am to hear about Sarah’s passing. As a brief student of hers I want you to know that she has made a difference in so many people’s lives. It is my hope that I take what I have learned from Sarah to better the lives of others.
Today we laid to rest one of the most amazing women I’ve ever known. The heartfelt tributes spoken by friends and family at her celebration of life told of the impact Sarah had on everyone she met. Here is my remembrance of her:
In early 2015, I met Sarah on a plane flying back from New Zealand, where she had been giving a lecture at the university. My seat was next to hers, and we started chatting and did not stop until the plane landed 12 hours later, probably much to the chagrin of our fellow passengers. There was something about Sarah that, upon first meeting her, gripped me and never let go. I sat down next to a stranger on that flight but disembarked with a wonderful new friend. Whether we were visiting each other in snowy Alaska in the wintertime or in a cozy café in downtown Edmonton or even just chatting on the phone while commiserating over our challenges in flight training, any time spent in Sarah’s presence was deeply honest and meaningful. She was a truly remarkable woman: kind and fun, caring and dedicated, hardworking and insightful, and certainly inspiring as hell. Anything she devoted her time and energy to was a smashing success because Sarah always gave her all, including to the relationships she nurtured throughout her life. I feel immeasurably lucky to have known her for nearly a decade, and I’m going to miss that girl something fierce. Whether we knew her as a professor, researcher, nurse, pilot, athlete, mother, sister, partner, friend, or another of the myriad rolls she filled, we each feel the loss of her presence deeply. She’ll be dearly missed down here, but I know she’s enjoying putting her new set of wings through their paces. Fly high, Sarah. I’ll always love you.
A beautiful tribute to Sarah.
I am deeply saddened to learn of Sarah’s passing. Sarah was incredibly smart, kind, ambitious, brutally honest and a lot of fun. Thank you Sarah for sharing some great, long training rides, swims, coffees and glasses of wine. You achieved more in your lifetime than most people even believe they can. Condolences to Sarah’s family and close friends. I am grateful to have known her.
I am so sorry to hear of Sarah’s passing. She was a dear friend in colleague for many years. We did out PhD’s together, worked together and later shared an over of flight! During our nursing years, unknown to me was Sarah’s love of flying and her later pursuit to become a flight instructor. I was so happy she was able to take a flight with my son and see why my guys love their big-tired planes so much! She is gone far too soon. A wonderful friend will be dearly missed. Condolences to all of you.
I have just heard and am so sorry to hear about Sarah’s death. She was a wonderful, caring friend and will be missed by everyone who knew her. My heart and prayers are with you all.
So sorry to hear of her passing. Sarah was a true wonder in the world. Her smile and zest for life. Her ability to take chance and pursue her dreams. I will always be inspired by her. She knew how to really live life! Sincere condolences to her family,
Marilyn Wacko