Sara Vana

Sara Olmsted Vana, 78, died Tuesday (February 16, 2016) at Decatur Memorial Hospital following a brief illness.A resident of Aperion Care for the past several months, she lived at the Oxford House for many years. Born Sara Catharine Olmsted on June 2, 1937, in Danville, she was a daughter of Robert Benjamin and Catharine Hatfield Olmsted. She graduated from Oak Park-River Forest High School and the University of Michigan. She worked as a high school English teacher and as a secretary in Michigan and Illinois.She was married to Kent J. Vana of Grand Rapids, Michigan, for 10 years and is survived by their two sons, John Webster Vana, a professor of music at Western Illinois University, and James Lockhart Vana, an attorney in Seattle; seven grandchildren, Jay, Elizabeth, Anne-Catherine, Lilianne, William, Bennett, and Connor Vana; a sister, Rosie McDonel Augspurger of Wilmette, a brother, Daniel J. Olmsted of Falls Church, Va.; and cousins Dr. Lawrence W. Allen, John T. Allen Jr., Melissa Allen Rapo and R. Philip Steinberg.She was a member of Grace United Methodist Church. A gifted pianist, she played often for family, friends, and fellow residents. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 6, in the Fireside Room at Grace United, 901 N. Main Street in Decatur. "
}