Sarah Williams Volf
Sarah Williams Volf, dedicated daughter, wife, mother and friend, passed away on Thursday, April 6, 2017, with her husband by her side. The heartfelt tributes from friends all over the world started pouring in almost immediately. Born in Wrexham, Wales, on March 22, 1975 to Geoff and Margaret Williams, Sarah traveled the world at a young age, bringing athletics to children from London to Bosnia.
In 2001, Sarah moved to Colorado to start a legacy of devotion to America’s wounded veterans at Challenge Aspen. Sarah made many visits to Walter Reed, the burn unit at Brokke Army Medical Center (BAMC) and to Washington, D.C., to recruit newly injured military men and women to participate in her new program, Challenge Aspen Military Operations (CAMO).
From challenging raft trips in the Grand Canyon and flyfishing in local Gold Medal waters, to skiing with blind servicemen, Sarah brought so much to so many. To this day, the CAMO program embraces the unconditional love, unbridled compassion and hope that Sarah shared with her new lifelong friends. Sarah’s devotion to our military will never be forgotten.
Sarah’s love for the outdoors, recreation and extreme sports was shared with her many friends in the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond as she was a regular at the Aspen Rugby Club, Roaring Fork CrossFit, Colorado’s high mountain peaks and trails, and in her work at the Snowmass Club. There wasn’t a snowy uphill or dusty downhill that Sarah didn’t complete — these mountains are, and will always be, Sarah’s mountains. Sarah’s warm smile, unending joy and contagious positive attitude has forever changed the lives of many who feel blessed to have known her. Sarah, loved by all she touched, will be missed.
A devoted wife to Mark and mother to Samuel Lloyd Volf, who blessed Sarah and Mark’s life on January 21, 2009, Sarah was the first one to volunteer for school outings, movie nights, indoor and outdoor soccer, rugby, days at the hot-springs, MMA, trips to Moab, and hikes, biking and on-snow adventures that Samuel and his friends will always treasure. Rarely was Sarah seen around town without her beloved Samuel in tow — they were as close as a mother and son could be — a love so deep — reflected in the thousands of photos of the twosome posted everywhere.
Sarah is survived by her mother and father, Margaret and Geoff Williams; Aunty Arl and Uncle Dave and her cousin, Lynne Williams, Kelly, Pam (Volf), Ashton and Trenton Steckelberg, father-in law, Maylon Volf and her husband and son, Mark and Samuel Volf. A memorial will be held on May 20, 2017, at the Aspen Chapel in Aspen, Colorado. An additional celebration of Sarah’s life, hosted by Sarah’s parents and friends, will be in her beloved Wales soon thereafter. A memorial fund has been established at all Alpine Banks in Colorado — the Sarah Volf Memorial Fund. In addition, online donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/mark-and-samuel-volf-fund. Mark and Samuel have experienced an outpouring of love and support, from Sarah’s family and friends, and wish to share their humble gratitude for the dinners, notes, visits and calls of sympathy and support.
