SOUTH HADLEY — Select Board vice chair and deeply involved community member Sarah Etelman died Friday at the age of 53 after a battle with cancer.
Across the region, people are mourning the death of Etelman — a sharp, creative person who loved the color purple and her two cats, Luna and Sophie. A member of the Select Board since 2013, she also chaired the South Hadley Democratic Town Committee, sat on various boards, and worked for decades in Valley nonprofits, most recently for Girls Inc. of the Valley.
Etelman had been fighting pancreatic cancer, which ultimately took her life.
Reflecting on Etelman’s work as the development director at Girls Inc., Executive Director Suzanne Parker said Tuesday that a donor had recently written Etelman a card that had perfectly encapsulated her spirit.
“You’ve always impressed me — that quiet, petite little dynamo that always seemed to stay out of the spotlight,” the donor wrote to Etelman. But in reality, the donor continued, Etelman was the “backbone” of the organization, making sure to cross the t’s and dot the i’s and, in the process, ensuring the “monumental success” of Girls Inc.
“What’s standing out to me is the consistency of what people are saying about her generosity, her kindness, her creativity, her intellect,” said Etelman’s sister, Carla Schine, of Westport, Connecticut.
Schine described her sister as a creative artist, frequently making felt or stained-glass crafts for those around her and taking beautiful nature and wildlife photographs. She was a “highly contributing member of her community,” which she loved dearly, Schine said.
“She was very passionate about human rights issues, environmental issues,” Schine said. “She really enjoyed her community and everything about it … She had a lot — a lot — of friends and she enjoyed meeting people — talented people, life-affirming-type people.”
Etelman grew up in Wayland, her sister said, and attended Ithaca College. A former employee of CareerPoint, which is now MassHire, she began working at Girls Inc. in 2011. Etelman’s website says that she bought a house in South Hadley in 1997.
“Sarah was both a private person and when she was out in the world doing her thing, she was unabashedly who she was,” Schine said. “She didn’t hide her opinions.”
State Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, thought Etelman’s love of the color purple said something about who she was.
“She lived life boldly and out of the box,” said Comerford, who met Etelman when she launched her Senate campaign and soon came to rely on her as “a steadfast guide and counsel” for years. “She wasn’t going to be a primary color, she was going to be purple,” Comerford said.
Comerford said that through her battle with cancer, Etelman was a “fighter” who continued to show love to her community, her work and her colleagues.
“It’s like a cavernous-size hole in our region, the loss of Sarah,” Comerford said. “She was just so brilliant. Her mind was brilliant, her heart was fierce and her humor and wit were endless. She was a gift to us all.”
Comerford and South Hadley’s representative in the state House, Daniel Carey, D-Easthampton, are working to close the legislative session with a tribute to Etelman.
Parker said that Etelman was truly a humble person. This year, she and her colleagues practically had to twist Etelman’s arm to accept a Dream Maker Award from Girls Inc., an honor meant for those who pushed forward the organization’s mission of making girls strong, smart and bold.
“She lived that outside of the organization,” Parker said, describing Etelman’s support of other civic causes in the region and her courage as she struggled with cancer.
Parker said Etelman was the kind of person who just knew how to get things done, and used those talents in many ways.
“She had just such a tremendous impact,” Parker said. “She really touched a lot of people’s lives.”
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Select Board, Etelman’s colleagues all wore purple in her honor, putting flowers behind her nameplate and observing a moment of silence to honor her.
“Sarah’s the reason that I’m on the board,” Andrea Miles said, describing her support of Miles as she ran for office. “It feels extra vacant without her here, without her vast institutional knowledge. And I’ll miss that forever.”
In her biography on the Girls Inc. website, Etelman wrote that the first concert she ever attended was to see Dolly Parton, and that she still stands by Parton’s life philosophy: “If you want to see the rainbow, you’ve gotta put up with the rain.”
Etelman is survived by Schine, her other sister Paula Webb, cousins Faith and Julia Michaels, uncle Fred Wilcon and many others in her extended family, Schine said.
Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.