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Sarah Dubin-Vaughn was born the 10th of 16 children in 1931-at the beginning of the great depression-in a rural Tennessee farming community. The original family home had a dirt floor, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no telephone. Her father was a veterinarian, who died when she was four years old, leaving her mother to work hard to support the farm and feed the family. The older boys left school by the 8th grade, taking jobs in the Civilian Conservation Corps and later in the armed services to financially aid the family. Due to her mother's great appreciation for education, the girls stayed in school. She was adamant that the children not miss a day of school, and Sarah didn't, even though they had to walk through mud and rain on a dirt road two miles each way to school and back.
Sarah skipped two grades and graduated from high school at the Alvin C. York Institute at age 16. At her graduation, she proudly accepted two scholastic awards personally presented to her by WWI hero Sergeant York. She then rode a Greyhound bus to join her three older sisters who had previously migrated to San Diego to further their education.
While earning a bachelors degree in English and Math at San Diego State College, she met her future husband, John (Jack) S. Bradshaw, in a chemistry class. Together, they built two houses and raised four kids. They moved to Del Mar to be closer to Jack's work at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography while she helped establish the Oceanids (spouses of Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists) and was active in multiple community initiatives.
The family lived in England and camped throughout Europe (including the Soviet Union) with children ages 8, 7, 5, and 3 for most of 1958. Sarah was then active in incorporating the City of Del Mar in 1959.
After she and Jack divorced in 1963, she returned to San Diego State College for a Masters degree in English, relishing leading roles in multiple Albee and Ionesco plays. She taught Math and English at Muirlands Junior High School in La Jolla before marrying Fred Dubin and moving to Connecticut in 1969.
Sarah continued to develop her administrative, feminist and spiritual interests. She became the Associate Director of the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School and later taught English at Yale University in its Transitional Year Program.
She earned a PhD in Transpersonal Psychology. From 1973-1986, she worked with Jean Houston preparing creative international workshops for "The Mystery School."
After moving back to Del Mar in 1987, she became a Dean at the Institute for Humanistic Studies and had a private practice in psychology.
She became a founding member and later Board President of Del Mar Community Connections, an innovative community organization dedicated to helping Del Mar residents age gracefully in their homes. Later, she was a member of the Friends of Jung and active in Katherine Sanford's Jungian study group.
An avid reader, she liked to think deeply and consider the sacred and divine. She had highly honed leadership skills and inspired many with her indomitable spirit and passion for life. She was a wonderful story-teller and cared deeply for others. She was thoroughly engaging to all who met her!
She was predeceased by her beloved son Jack Yates Bradshaw and survived by her children Ylisabyth (Libby), Vaughn and Victoria Bradshaw; son-in-law, Peter Conrad and daughter-in-law, Judith Terpstra and her son Kit; grand-children, Rya and Jared Conrad-Bradshaw and their respective spouses, Andrew Magliozzi and Rita Ender; great-grandchildren Rafi and Sela; her brother Donald Boyd Vaughn; many wonderful nieces and nephews and many, many friends.
A celebration of her life will be held on Monday, October 14 at 1 PM at the Parish Hall of St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 334 14th Street, Del Mar, California.
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