Sarah Gelotte Peters of Vineyard Haven died on Oct. 12 at the Boston Medical Center, surrounded and cared for by her loving family. A sudden illness took her too soon, at age 53.
Sarah and her husband John were married in 1984, and lived since then in Vineyard Haven. Sarah loved spending time with her family, the Gelottes and the Peters. She was often visited by her mother and her brothers, their wives, and their children. She hosted many family dinners in her home, and these were a source of happy memories and were always joyful, laugh-filled gatherings. She enjoyed gardening in the summer months in her back yard, and often took pride in delivering to her family delicious tomatoes.
Sarah loved the ocean and being in or near the water. She spent some of her most memorable moments on the water, whether it was pulling lobster traps or a scallop drag, digging quahogs or steamers, or just sitting on South Beach and enjoying the sky and sea. Sarah’s care for animals was important and constant throughout her life; she provided a home for six dogs over the past 30 years, as well as for an African gray parrot.
As a young child, Sarah attended the St. Pierre School, and summer camp at the old Marine Hospital in Vineyard Haven, where she met some of her closest friends to this day, who deeply miss her. She was a graduate of Lasell College in Newton and Simmons College in Boston. Most recently she was the branch manager of the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank in West Tisbury, where she had worked more than 15 years. It was her caring co-workers who assisted her when she first took ill on her last day at the bank.
Sarah leaves behind her devoted husband John, her mother Helen (Viera) Gelotte, also of Vineyard Haven, and her brother Mark of Hatfield and brother and sister-in-law, Matt and Liz of Wellesley, as well as many other extended family members. She was preceded in death by her father Robert Gelotte, her maternal grandparents, Manual and Sarah (Arruda) Viera and her paternal grandparents Claus and Mabel (Goldstein) Gelotte. Sarah also leaves behind her companion Mika, a German shepherd with whom she enjoyed countless hours.
Sarah’s kindness, sense of humor, and gentle upbeat manner in the face of any situation will be remembered, as will her devotion to her husband and mother. A memorial gathering for close family and friends was recently held, and an interment service will be private.
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