Sara Wheelwright

Sara Danielle Wheelwright, 29 of Union passed away on December 16, 2019.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to a visitation for Sara at the Galante Funeral Home, 2800 Morris Ave. Union on Friday January 3, 2020 from 9 - 11 AM. A Funeral Service will be celebrated in the funeral home at 11 AM. Following the service, family and friends are invited to a repast celebrating Sara's life at Boulevard Five72, 572 Boulevard in Kenilworth beginning on Friday at 1 PM. Burial will take place on Monday January 6 at 11:30 AM at Graceland Memorial Park in Kenilworth.

Sara Danielle Wheelwright was born on November 19, 1990 at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City at 12.01pm to Robert and Adrienne Wheelwright.  She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces.  Sara Danielle went home with her parents four day later where the family resided on Purdy street in the Bronx.

Sara Danielle was a happy child who attended several private day care programs in the Bronx while her parents worked in Manhattan.  She attended a nursey school program at St. Helena’s catholic church where the children were involved in early learning activities, arts and crafts and music.  Parents also participated by providing the children with festive activities during Halloween, Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays.

When their jobs moved out of New York’s financial district, the family moved to the Garden State. Sara Danielle was enrolled at the River School in Jersey City, New Jersey.  She was famous for introducing each new child to the various activities intended to provide an enriched learning environment for all.  Sara Danielle made lifelong friends with several children who attended the school.

For Sara Danielle’s pre-kindergarten and first grade education, she attended All Saints Episcopal Day school in Hoboken, where she was engaged in the education program and was exposed to musical instruments, theater and the school choir.  Sara attended the Cornerstone School in Jersey City for grades 2 through 3, Primary Preparatory School for grades 4 through 7 and St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic school for 8th grade where she excelled in Latin.   During these years, Sara was involved in plays, holiday choirs, school funding activities, arts and crafts projects and volunteered to support animal welfare.  Sara also learned to play the flute and participated in many concert  activities to support school fund raising and other functions.  Sara cherished many visits to the Bronx Zoo where she attended to animals in the children’s zoo and enjoyed an exhibit where butterflies flew freely around the plants, flowers and visitors.

Lacordiare Academy in Montclair, New Jersey is where Sara spent her high school years.  Although college preparation was a major focus, Sara was engaged in volunteering, art & music programs and after school activities.  Sara began learning about marketing and design.  She loved to use her creative skills to get the right message across to students, teachers and the world.  During this time,  Sara visited art museums in the tri-state area, Washington DC and Philadelphia.

Kean University in Union, New Jersey is where Sara thrived during her college years.  She was intensely focused on her studies and made the dean’s list every year.  She maintained exceptional relationships with her classmates and teachers.    During her senior year, Sara worked in the office of student government.  She led the re-design of all communication materials for the college.  She excelled in this role and was looking forward to finding her first job in the graphic design industry.

Landing a position during a recession is no small task.  Sara took a risk by accepting a consulting position through the Creative Group at Robert Half International.  They placed her with American Standard as a graphic designer.  With a little luck and great talent, Sara landed a full-time position just a little over a year with the company.  She created packaging materials for bathing, faucets and chinaware products.   She worked with a diversified internal team including product managers, vendors, marketing, corporate branding and product engineers.  She also had customer facing responsibilities to present project concepts to clients for feedback, approval and execution.

Sara thoroughly enjoyed travel both domestic and international.  She frequently visited Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.  She also travelled to Paris, Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Sara was recently accepted at Rutgers University’s User Interface Master Program.  She expected to start classes in the spring of 2020.

Sara is cherished by her parents, Robert and Adrienne Wheelwright, her siblings, Michele Butler, Traci Wheelwright and Marlena Wheelwright, nephews, nieces, cousins and her friends and colleagues.  We will all miss Sara in the days, weeks and years ahead.