Sara Jayne Hebner

1964 - 2020

Sara Jayne Hebner (Mitchell)

On Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, Sara Jayne Hebner, loving wife and mother of two, passed away at the age of 56 in St. Louis, MO. Sara was born on March 24, 1964 in Billings, MT to Robert L. Mitchell and Pamela Stone Mitchell. She grew up in Billings and attended Billings Senior High School where she graduated with high honors and was one of six national merit scholars in the graduating class of 1982. She attended Georgetown University and received her bachelor's degree in International Business and Chinese in 1987 and became an animated Hoya basketball fan. During her time at Georgetown, she studied abroad in Taiwan to deepen her knowledge of the Chinese language. In addition to Chinese, Sara studied French and loved to speak in her impeccable, if not slightly dramatic, French accent. On August 22, 1987, she married David A. Hebner and together they raised two children, Olivia and Henry. Sara worked as an HR Benefits Consultant at many companies over the years, most recently at Cigna in St. Louis where she made many friends.

Sara loved to sing and was an active participant in the church choirs of Christ Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC and Reveille Methodist Church in Richmond, VA. As the only member in her immediate family with any talent for singing, her family always looked forward to hearing her perform. She loved challenging her mind and completed the NYTimes crossword puzzle almost every day. She had the answer to most everything, from how to make the perfect pumpkin pie to most recently researching and ordering a part to fix her family's refrigerator door – a part that laughably took three family members to install without her. She became passionate about running and running with her family delighted her. She completed over 15 half marathons and one full marathon, with plans to run more.

Perhaps more than anything else, Sara was known for her quick wit, her irresistible smile, and her kind and compassionate spirit. All who knew her will remember her joy for life, her smile, and her deep and infectious laugh that could be easily picked out of a crowd. Her enthusiasm for spending a beautiful day outside with friends, or just discovering a new cocktail, was unmatched. Not a person she encountered walked away without a smile on their face. Sara's last gift to others was to become an organ donor. She saved the lives of those she had never met. A true hero.

Sara was preceded in death by her father, Robert L. Mitchell, her grandparents Robert and Gladys Stone and Roy and Katherine Mitchell and great grandmother, Zella Newton. She is survived by her husband David, her two children, Olivia and Henry, her mother Pamela Stone Gustafson (Wayne), her brother Trevor Mitchell (Beth), and many adoring nephews and nieces.

Services were held at Bopp Chapel, St. Louis, MO. Contributions may be sent to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in memory of Sara through the following link:

https://give.bafound.org/site/Donation2?df_id=1540&1540.donation=form1&test=true