Sarah Nissen

Nissen, Sarah "Sally" C., 88, beloved and caring wife for over 61 years to Paul E. Nissen of Eastford, CT passed on as a result of metastatic cancer on September 14, 2008 while staying at North Bay Manor in Smithfield, RI. Sally was the daughter of Ralph Elisha Champion and Ingeborg (Hill) Champion of South Lyme, CT. Sally and Paul purchased their Eastford, CT home in 1956, and have been part of the Eastford community for over 52 years. Sally is loved and missed by her three children and their extended families: son James Nissen and his wife Lynn of Willington CT, daughter Patricia "Trish" Grist of Sneedville TN, and daughter Karen Reed of Manchester CT. Sally also leaves behind grandchildren Suzanne Grist, Jessica Nissen, Sarah (Nissen) Lanzendorfer, Paul Reed, Emma Reed, and great granddaughters Kathleen and Clare Castleberry. Sally's nieces and nephews include Sheila Elliott, Bernard Cole, James Cole, Jan Nissen, Gregory Beers, Nina Summer, Robert Beers, Martha Clanton, and David Lee. Sally spent many years working with and teaching young children as a 4-H leader and Sunday school teacher. Her favorite things to do were cooking, sewing, working in her flower gardens, and doing crossword puzzles. Besides her parents she was predeceased by her older brother, Charles Champion, younger sister Ingeborg Hayes, and grand-daughter Kathleen Grist. When reflecting on the loss of her siblings she often said she was the "Last leaf on the tree." Her legacy is a living example of total devotion to and caring about others. She believed in many things but we believe Sally will be remembered most to those who knew her as one who "thought and lived" being responsible for one's actions, being a good hostess, having good manners, not judging others until you have "walked a mile in their shoes," and sacrificing her own wants and needs for those of others.
A memorial service and celebration of Sally's life will be held at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 12 Bradford Corner Road, Woodstock Valley, CT 06282 on Saturday, September 20, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made in her memory to a charity of the donor's choice.