April Leigh Saul

April Leigh Saul of Blacksburg, Va., was brilliant, vivacious, beautiful and unique. She embraced life to the fullest. Her life ended unexpectedly of natural causes in her Blacksburg apartment on Monday, March 26, 2018, at age 26.

April brought joy to all, including family, friends, classmates, and professors. She connected on a personal level with each. She always offered the right encouragement with thoughtful words, perfectly seasoned with wit as needed.

Raised in Catawba, April was the only child of Franklin Robert “Rob” Saul Jr. and Kay Anthony Saul. She was born in Roanoke, Va., on April 21, 1991. April, who shared a special and tight bond with her parents, was the sunshine of her parents’ lives as well as the lives of countless others.

In her youth April became interested in physics and mathematics, encouraged by her maternal grandfather, Lee S. Anthony, Ph.D. of Salem. She grew up helping and working in the family business, Physics Associates, LLC in Roanoke, and returned recently to help with computer support and instrument calibration. April’s maternal grandmother, Katherine Virginia Anthony of Salem, encouraged April’s curiosity and creativity nurturing the author within her.

Pursuing her passion of writing, April made herself an accomplished author who published four novels under the Nom de Plume “A.S. VonDilzer.” Her works included, Martinis with a Twist (2013), Enchanted Knights (2014), A Spy’s Guide to Martinis (2015), and Please, No Legends Before Martini Time (2016). Hot Passion, Cold Chills (2017) will be published posthumously. Last month, she presented her first short story, Midwinter Story, at Writers Cubed to wonderful reviews.

April received her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Roanoke College as the Salutatorian in 2013. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. April also was inducted into Pi Mu Epsilon, a national collegiate mathematics honor society; Alpha Chi, a national academic honor society; and Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national health pre-professional honor society. During college she developed extensive research experience involving nonlinear dynamics with applications to biological systems.

April received her Master’s Degree in Mathematics from Virginia Tech in 2015. Her Master’s Thesis, “Hepatitis B Virus and e-Antigen Model,” included creation of a model of partial differential equations to examine the role of e-Antigen in chronic Hepatitis B Virus, among much other work. She was working toward a second undergraduate degree from Roanoke College in Economics at the time of her death.

Always with a smile, April embraced life though many experiences. She loved learning and challenging herself to master complex subjects. April also loved to challenge herself physically by competing in races. She also loved to travel, whether visiting The Greenbrier (which she visited every Christmas) or trips to Europe. April embraced travel experiences and brought special touches from them when she hosted family and friends for holidays and gatherings.

April displayed a flair for design and decorating. She was an accomplished chef who delighted in preparing delicious meals enhanced with an ambiance provided by creative decorative arrangements. April worked to make her almost complete new home, which she named “Enchanted Acre,” perfect. She was looking forward to moving into Enchanted Acre, which overlooks her beloved Blue Ridge Mountains. April planned to move in with her also beloved cats, Agatha, Tolkien, Kili, and Fili.

April Leigh Saul is survived by her parents; her maternal grandparents; aunt and uncle, Lee S. Anthony Jr., and Cathy B. Anthony; cousins, Jared and Julia Anthony; aunt and uncle, Eric and Lyne Evanson; and cousins, Alexis and Maximilian Evanson.

She was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Franklin Robert Saul and Elayne Robinson Saul.

A Funeral Service will be open to family and friends at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, 2018, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Va.

The family suggests memorials for the benefit of The Franklin County Humane Society. Online condolences may be expressed at www.oakeys.com.

“I didn’t give you the gift of life. Life gave me the gift of you.” April was a gift - truly a gift from God.