Sara Catherine Cleaver Green

Sara Catherine Cleaver Green, 82, Lawrence Kansas, was born in Fort Worth Texas to Maurice and Helen (Duncan) Cleaver at the beginning of World War II. Her father was working on behalf of the war effort for “the phone company” and was transferred to New York where they spent the war years enduring blackouts and rationing. Mom’s earliest memory was riding the train into NY city from their home in Manhasset and seeing the lights of the city come on and the tears in her mother’s eyes. The family moved to St. Louis and Sara graduated from University City High School and attended the University of Missouri. There she met a boy and ran off and got married at 19. They had two children in quick succession and were divorced immediately thereafter. Sara continued her studies eventually receiving a bachelor’s degree after trying out multiple degree programs including entomology, nursing, and psychology. Always pushing the boundaries of what was possible, Sara petitioned the Dean of Women to allow her to live in subsidized married student housing as a divorced woman with children – she said it was the cheapest place and there were plenty of babysitters. They didn’t allow traditional pets, so Sara had a tarantula named Marlow. She took her kids to classes and restaurants in an era when children were supposed to be seen and not heard.
Sara married Winford Green in the mid-sixties and the new family eventually settled in Topeka which would be her home for many years. She went back to school got a master’s degree at Emporia State Teacher’s College and began a career in the Topeka Public Schools as a special education teacher and later as a school psychologist. Sara went back to school again earning a Ph.D. from K-State. A few years later, she finished the RN degree she started earlier graduating from Washburn University and then travelling to England to study at the National Health System.
The family purchased a run-down cabin at Lake Wabaunsee in the mid-seventies. In addition to working a full-time job, raising two children, going to school, and having a very active social life, she ran two homes – decorating and remodeling, cooking and cleaning. Sara had mountains of energy.
Sara loved crafts and was always making something to wear or decorate her home. She was a talented artist and always involved her children in making things involving hot wax, pouring molds, or weaving yarn.
Sara was a feminist before it was popular. She challenged the bank to give her loans without her husband’s signature. She wrote companies telling them how to improve their products for women. She was proud to have a career and loved learning about different cultures. She supported the right of women to live self-directed lives. She died on same day as Roe v Wade, a right for women she strongly believed in.
After her husband passed away in the mid-nineties, Sara moved back to St. Louis to spend time with her high school friends. She joined the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion near where she grew up and was very active in the Church Guild.
Sara spent her later years travelling with her friends and solo all over the world from China to Saudi Arabia and Egypt to her beloved Europe. She believed in the power of travel to get one “out of themselves” and was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge on history, politics, religion, art, geography and pretty much any subject. She had a photographic memory of events, dinners, people, fashion, and all the conversations she had with anyone in her life. It was a constant marvel to her family that she remembered everything and could recall so many details.
For over twenty years Sara enjoyed a lively retirement going to the Symphony, working as a camp nurse at the “J”, hosting dinner parties and dedicating an entire room of her home to her crafts. Sara made many friends and was surrounded by the St. Louis culture and her church that she so loved. She moved to Lawrence Kansas to be near her daughter in 2020.
Sara was preceded in death by her husband, Winford Green, her son John David Green, and most recently her beloved sister, Ann Burdette. She is survived by her daughter Laura Ann Green, her nephews Duncan (Kathy) Burdette and Stuart (Shanlee) Burdette, her grandchild Max Green, and her great niece and four great nephews and her companion Finn, the wonder cat.
Graveside services for Sara will be held Friday, September 16, 2022, 2:00pm at the Eskridge Cemetery, Eskridge Kansas. Donations may be made to the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, 7401 Delmar Blvd., St. Louis Missouri 63130.