Sara A. Immerwahr, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, died on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at the age of 93. Her family was with her when she died. She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Henry R. Immerwahr, her daughter Mary (Jerry) Hiniker, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, and her grandchildren Annie Hiniker (Mike Perry), Susie Hiniker, and David Hiniker (Alexis Roosa).
Born Sara Anderson on August 28, 1914 in Royersford, Pennsylvania, she was known throughout her life as Sally. She and her twin sister, Elizabeth, attended Mount Holyoke College, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1935 with a BA degree in Archeology. She received a PhD in Archaeology from Bryn Mawr in 1943, and, as part of that process, spent two years at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens, Greece, where she met her future husband, Henry Immerwahr, a classics scholar.
They were married in 1944, while she was teaching at Wellesley College. After Henry Immerwahr returned from serving in the Army in World War II, they took up residence in New Haven, where he taught at Yale and their daughter Mary was born. They moved to Chapel Hill in 1958, where they both taught at the University of North Carolina.
Chebeague Island was very special to the Immerwahrs. In 1950, they were invited to Chebeague by their colleague Howard Porter and his family. They immediately decided that this was the very best place to spend their summers, and purchased their own cottage in 1951. Every year they arrived on the island in June and stayed through August. They swam, went boating, and, in her 70s, Sally learned to sail her own small sailboat. They had many adventures traveling around the Bay and many picnics on the rocks near their cottage. They enjoyed the company of their daughter and her family, and got to know their grandchildren well.
Sara Immerwahr was known for her boundless energy, great friendliness, interest in her family, her many accomplishments combined with humility and enjoyment of life. She will be greatly missed.