It is with deep sorrow that I've been asked to share that Ms. Sara Ann Sexton passed away earlier today. Sara was an English teacher at Southwest for almost 40 years and was instrumental in creating the legacy and reputation that continues today. Sara had a profound impact on the lives of her students and her colleagues. Sara was an extraordinary teacher. She would hate to be showered with praise and accolades, so I will let the sentiment of one of her students speak to her legacy:
With a very heavy heart I share this news. Sara Ann Sexton passed away this morning at age 79. She was surrounded by loved ones. To have been her student was my great good fortune; to have been her friend was my great privilege. She was the *best* teacher I've ever known. Not just a teacher of literature -- she taught me what it means to lead an honorable life. I was never challenged academically like I was in her class until I took my PhD exams. And I think I set the course of my life trying to live up to the person she believed I was. This is the best I can do at expressing what she meant and will always mean to me. Because of her I have Shakespeare and Whitman and a determination not to turn maudlin. We are poorer for her loss, but infinitely rich for having known her.
"I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun"
She will be deeply
missed.
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