Born Jan. 3, 1942
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Died April 20, 2025
Burlington, Vermont
Details of services
A celebration of life will be held the week of July 8th, 2025 in the Burlington area followed the next day by a scattering of her ashes on the summit of Camel’s Hump, where she will continue to keep a close and watchful eye on all those she loved and adored.
Sara Ann (Fisher) Rice, best known as “Sally,” exited this life on April 20, 2025, just as she lived it — quickly and decisively, surrounded by the people she loved, in the home she cherished, in the community that she embraced.
The oldest of four children, she was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Orville and Mary Elaine Fisher on January 3, 1942. As a product of, and sometimes in spite of, a textbook mid-western life, Sally and her siblings, Chip, David and Laurie lived a life full of propriety and irreverence, humor and depth, love and loss — punctuated by endless days of teasing each other at every misstep and foible. They shared many adventures and remained extremely close until the very end.
Sally’s parents encouraged her to pursue one of the three professions “appropriate” for a young mid-western woman of the early 1960s: teacher, nurse or secretary. Fresh out of the University of Minnesota with a degree in education, Sally hopped on a bus to teach school in Mexico, followed by teaching positions in Bangkok, Texas and Boston. While her parents embraced her early role as an educator, they were immensely proud when she later added marketing executive, firefighter, alderwoman, Executive Director of the Vermont Republican party, Mayor of Montpelier, political leader, activist, adventurer, rabblerouser, bon vivant and woman-about-town to her list of many of earned titles, both official and self-proclaimed.
While undeterred by solo travel, her best travel adventures were always in the company of family and close friends, but none more so than with her loving partner and companion of the last ten years, Darwin Niles. Together they embarked on 44 incredible journeys across Japan, Mongolia, Svalbard, Easter Island, Ushuaia, Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Australia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Komodo Island and countless other destinations. Sally treated every adventure as if the world was trying to challenge the bounds of her curiosity, knowledge, energy and, most importantly, her independence.
Sally raised her three sons, Jed, Stephen and David in Montpelier, Vermont. As a mother of three energetic, young boys, she was a counselor, drill instructor, cheerleader, disciplinarian, public defender, prosecutor, champion, coach and companion. She put her very best into molding her children into the men, fathers, husbands, partners and professionals they are today. Later, as a doting grandmother, “Grammie” was a constant and positive presence in the lives of her seven granddaughters and two grandsons.
Sally eventually moved to Burlington where she became firmly entrenched in the community, helping refugees and displaced persons from Bhutan, Somalia and Afghanistan become welcome members of the community. When she wasn’t helping others, her calendar was filled with hikes, bike trips, Zumba classes, Friends in Council, ski club, book club and countless other activities which she enjoyed with the many dear friends she made along the way.
She is survived by Jed and his partner Ali, Jed’s children Matthew, Catherine, Meghan and Claire, his stepsons Alex and Will and his first wife, Callie; Stephen and his wife Jody and their children Charlie, Summer and Lucca; and David and his wife Fatima and their daughters Ihsan Sara and Taia. She is also survived by her brother David and his wife Barbara, her sister Laurie and her husband Chris and her many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews. She will be dearly missed by Darwin Niles, her loving companion. She will be happily reunited with her parents Orville and Mary Elaine, her brother Chip and her cherished friend, Otto Meier.