Sarah Jaffe

"I'm a stable dreamer from the land of brave ones," is a way that Sarah described herself. In her short 33 years, 7 months, 3 weeks and 2 days on this big, blue marble hurtling through space, Sarah lived a life of meaning and depth. Her life was art. Her drawings, her crafts, her dance, her expressive vibrance, her “hustle” were all-encompassing paint strokes upon a canvas of a life lived in the profound truth of human experience with all of its heights and pitfalls, profound and beautiful heartache, and ecstatic love—all packed into a graceful, precious, five feet and seven inches of pearly flesh, wavy brown hair, and big brown eyes.

A Pisces through and through, Sarah was born March 19, 1988 around 6 am in Verdugo Hills, California. Never taking the easy road, she was brought into this world via forceps delivery. She passed in the thick of Scorpio season, auspiciously on 11/11 at 8:36 pm in New York City – the magical city she loved above all others.

Sarah *was* New York, embodying the creative, hard-working energy of the city. She was an artist, a perfectionist, a partier, a friend, and a sister to those she loved. She loved love and she loved hard. She threw herself into the very act of loving, being *in* love, and being love itself—it's all she ever wanted, and had so much of it in her life. The city embraced her for every aspect of her unique being.

But those who knew her well know that Sarah didn't always have it easy. She wore her heart on her sleeve—emotional, expressive, and passionate. She was a highly-sensitive person, who always stood up for herself and others around her. She never cared what anyone thought, and poured herself into the throes of what it meant to be human, with all of its ups and downs, blessings in disguise and in plain sight, and the beauty of it all. Her life was a dance with the elements.

She was a ballerina after all. At the age of 12, she began an intensive program for classical ballet, though after a career-ending injury at 18, pursued fashion and design, earning her degree at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Always artistic, as a child she would draw and make sculptures, and in her adult life dreamed of creating her own jewelry line. (Perhaps someone reading this will bring that dream to fruition in her honor.) Her story is a coming-of-age tale about a creative who came to the city to pursue her dreams, making her way from dingy apartments with handfuls of roommates to the beautiful home—her very own loft apartment—she finally made for herself throughout all of 2021. They were happy days at that, with a potential six-figure job offer at Madison Square Garden waiting for her. In the end, she developed skills in coding and security—perhaps symbolic of how she cared so much for others and for a foundational stability deep within her very own soul.

Her personality was magnetic, and she had the ability to use her goofy sense of humor and utter ridiculousness to bring laughter to all in her presence. If you were with Sarah, you were likely smiling. She was warm, could effortlessly connect with people, and knew how to put them at ease and feel accepted. She was as genuine and authentic as any person could be. Everything she went through, she experienced in great depth.

Her love for astrology represented her attempt to understand and find meaning in everything that happened in the world around her. A notebook found in her apartment contained a note to herself indicating she felt she was getting closer to her soul purpose. She was a spiritual seeker who loved making connections and observing synchronicity in the workings of the universe. She believed in the power of manifesting her desires—and fulfilled many of her dreams before her life’s journey came to an end. But she was, and remains, cosmic. Her fierce, loyal, and authentic spirit still brings a shining, loving light for each of us reflecting today on how she enhanced our lives.

We'll end with one of Sarah's favorite pastimes—coming home to Los Angeles for the holidays, spending time with family, driving around with her childhood "sister" Roxanne (whom she affectionately called “Doodle”), looking at Christmas lights, and decorating the trees. Sarah loved the spirit of Christmas and would spend hours immaculately wrapping each gift into a piece of fine art. Her flight to LAX was booked for November 30th. It was a one-way, open-ended trip during which she intended to relax a bit, spend time with family and beloved pets, connect with old friends, and avoid some of the cold New York winter months.

Sarah was a gift to us all. She embodied the gift of life, the art of life, and the beautiful preciousness of existence itself. She represented warmth, brightness and kindness in a world that can at times be cold, dark and heartless. May we never forget the joy that Sarah brought to our lives.

She is survived by her parents Edward and Sandra, her grandfather Arthur, her aunt Susan, her uncles Brian, Jay, and Derek, numerous cousins and many of her best friends including Roxanne, Aimée, Tiffany, Joel, Megg (with whom she started her first band ever, the Jonathans), Kate, Katie, Faisal, Reza, Tracy, Lizzie, Chieko, Donald, Steven and countless other beautiful humans who were touched by Sarah's love.

Dozens of Sarah’s closest friends attended a November 19th celebration of her life in New York City and a huge mural was erected in her honor on the southeast side of Troutman Street below Cypress Avenue in Brooklyn. The words can be seen plainly through the large, sixteen-foot, floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street from her incredible apartment. The wording at the bottom says:

“Sweet Sarah… You Will Forever Dance in All of Our Hearts”

No tombstone could have said it better…