Sarah Ashman

ASHMAN, HUTTON, VAN ALSTINE, COLLINS

Posted By: Tara (email)
Date: 6/14/2010 at 12:07:37

Sarah Ashman, 94, passed away on June 10, 2010.

Sarah Harkness Hutton, the first child of Scottish parents Mary and Thomas Hutton, was born on July 5, 1915 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Kenmore High School in Kenmore, New York in 1933. She earned her B.A. degree from the University of Buffalo in 1936. She was an active member of the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. She married Elwyn J. Ashman and devoted her time to her children, reading, gardening and church activities. She returned to graduate studies in psychology, and earned an M.S. in 1963 and later a Specialist in Education degree from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN. For 23 years she worked as the psychometrist at the Indiana State School for the Blind in Indianapolis, where she tested students to find the best way to help each student learn. She was a member of North United Methodist Church and the Tower Club Bible Class for 42 years. After moving to Iowa City, Sarah and Elwyn spent happy years living in the Normandy Drive neighborhood along the Iowa River. Sarah was a member of the Congregational United Church of Christ. She was devoted to her family and friends. She enjoyed telling stories, reading, sewing, crossword puzzles and flowers. More recently Sarah lived at Hawthorne Inn and then Lantern Park. Sarah and her family have been deeply grateful for the many neighbors, friends and caregivers who supported her in her last years.

Sarah was preceded in death by her husband Elwyn J. Ashman, and by her brother Robert E. Hutton. She is survived by her brother James H. Hutton and his wife Peg, her son Robert F. Ashman and his wife Claire, her daughter Mary S. Ashman, her grandchildren Paul G. Ashman his fiancée Vanessa Van Alstine, Beth Ashman Collins and her husband Geoffrey, and Brian D. Ashman, and by two great-grandchildren Sophia E. Collins and Daniel C. Collins.