Sarnell Harriet Ogus

Sarnie was born February 1st, in Chicago, to Albert and Minnie Ogus. She was the youngest of four children: sisters, Libby and Geri, and her brother Bobby. When she was four years old, she nearly died from an ear infection, and suffered from hearing loss for most of her life. She was a bright young woman, and graduated from high school a year early, but due to finances, college was not an option.

At the age of eighteen, while she was working as a messenger at MGM studios , she met a young cameraman named Gerald Hirschfeld. They married after a two week courtship, moved to Greenwich Village in New York, and when she was twenty, she had her first son, Alec.

The couple moved to the suburbs of Long Island, and the family grew, adding two more sons, Marc and Eric. Due to the demands of her husband's career, Sarnie was left to raise the boys more or less on her own. Within a few years the family moved into a larger house, and Sarnie had a fourth son, Burt.

Eventually the family returned to Manhattan. As the boys became more independent, and her husband increasingly possessed by his career, Sarnie became a dedicated dancer, first taking lessons and then becoming a dance therapist. The mind/body connection inspired her for the rest of her life.

At the age of 43, Sarnie took her first lesson in a movement therapy called The Alexander Technique. She had been in an automobile accident and was due for spinal surgery when a chance meeting prompted her to try this mind/body technique. The lessons were so successful in alleviating her pain that Sarnie made the commitment to become a practitioner of the technique. Her success at treating people led to her decision to become a trainer; teaching others how to administer the technique. In 1972 she was certified as a teacher by the American Center for the Alexander Technique. She treated clients in her home studio, continued to train new practitioners, and eventually became an elder statesman of the technique, lecturing around the country. At around this time, Sarnie and Jerry gave up on their marriage and divorced.

A second marriage, to Irving Levine, an engineer, retired businessman, and psychologist lasted until Irv's death. The couple lived in East Hampton, NY, where Sarnie had many friends.

Sarnie's family has grown from four sons, and now includes eight grandchildren: Ian, Marina, Isaac, Max, Grace, Susan, Tanat, and Yosita; six great grandchildren: Andreas, Amelia, Astrid, Lincoln, Rosalie and Devon; and seven daughters-in-law (current and former). She is loved by all and will be missed.

By any measure, Sarnie had a full life. On growing old she said, "Things sag, and your skin changes. It's a good thing to embrace it, because the inevitable is going to happen...and hopefully, the more you embrace the fact that you're aging - without succumbing, without being old...Be young as you get old."