Sarah LaVora Dippel passed away on September 27th at the age of 74 after a long battle with metastatic breast cancer. She leaves behind her devoted husband of 54 years, Richard Dippel, and family in Georgia including daughters and sons-in-law, Teresa and Randal Kinley and Alicia and Ray Hills, grandchildren Matt Hills, Sarah Kinley, Robert Kinley, and Alex Hills, granddaughters-in-law Carla Hills and Hannah Kinley, and one special great granddaughter, Delilah Hills. She’s also survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Thomas and Gayle LaVora in Wisconsin, and sister-in-law JoAnne LaVora of Texas.
Sarah and her husband lived in 7 states across the US and in Germany throughout their marriage. During retirement, Sarah enjoyed travelling with the love of her life, Richard. Together, Sarah and Richard shared frequent road trips, took 35 cruises, and made it a priority to visit family and friends. Sarah made friends wherever she went. She was loved by an extended network of family and friends throughout the world. GiGi/Grandma/Mom/Sarah will be sincerely missed by those she left behind.
Sarah sincerely cared about everyone she met and kept in touch daily with her family and friends through phone calls, emails, and Facebook. She worked at various occupations throughout her life including the post office, hospital administration, and federal social services, but her favorite pastime was being with family. She loved the beauty of nature through plants, flowers, hummingbirds, deer, and other living creatures. Sarah loved to read her daily newspaper on the screened in porch, drink her coffee, eat graham crackers, and watch for deer in the backyard. She was known as an amazing listener, and many came to her for advice about life’s challenges. Her favorite holiday was Christmas where the family was always together with special traditions – she played Christmas carols on her accordion, made homemade spaghetti, and gave every family member a specially chosen annual ornament.
A funeral service is planned for Friday, October 3rd at 3 pm at St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Crossville, TN. In lieu of flowers, any contributions received will be donated by the family to The Susan G Komen 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. Her family has actively participated in this event since 2005 after Sarah was first diagnosed with breast cancer.