Dear Sab

I met Sabrina circa 1989 either at my old church, First Baptist of West Palm Beach or college, Palm Beach Atlantic.  They more or less shared the same campus.  I can't exactly recall if it was in a Sunday School class or through some friends as we forever hung out in the Student Center.  I was at once  struck by her quirky sense of humor, which would prove to never sully her kindness. To anyone.  Sabrina was also very talented.  She shared a directing class with my friend, Allen, who recruited me during senior year to be in his one act play, Rope.  

Sabrina's choice was The Sentimental Scarecrow, which starred Robbie, another new friend at the time.  He passed in 2024..  She followed, two days after Christmas, 2025.

Heartbreaking. Devastating.  There was a health scare back in September, one through which she pushed and recovered.  We communicated through Instagram some time after.  She seemed upbeat as always, asking about my new job and my wife.  Her last words to me there were "more later".  On December 26th her husband created a Facebook Messenger thread alerting a group of friends that Sabrina had suffered a cardiac arrest, with subsequent brain damage.  She would not recover.

It was hard to reconcile.  I knew she had health issues for years, but I was in disbelief that another light had gone out in the world.  Another dear friend, the fourth in three years to pass on prematurely.  Another kind soul who did much good in the world.  Working with the disabled and the elderly.  Selfless. 

We hung out quite a bit in the early '90s, post undergrad.  She directed a play called Adam and Eve Meet the Atom.  Heady stuff.  She sought my input.  Me, a non-actor and wannabe writer.  Made me feel like part of the process.  Other theater types hung with us.  Many nights at local diners and each others' apartments.  Moments I didn't realize were so precious.   The memories now are tough. 

She met her husband in 1994 at BRITT - The Burt Reynolds Institute of Theater Training.  Another talented, intelligent, and friendly soul who came from Norway.  They would marry a year later.  I imagined they would take Broadway and/or Hollywood by storm.  They had the chops.  But life doesn't always go as you expect.  

The couple lived near us for many years.  Regrettably, we did not see them as often as we should've.  So stupid.  So many opportunities we blew.  Life gets busy.  In 2018 they moved to western Georgia, where Sabrina's parents lived. 

We remained in touch.  Her messages were a joy to read.  Uncommonly wise.  Her FB and IG posts were usually artful.  Images of things most people wouldn't think to photograph.  The sides of barns.  A twig. A discarded glove on asphalt.  She was also fascinated with the 1920s.  I often felt she was born far too late.  I feel that way about myself sometimes. 

In 2021 my wife and I visited Sabrina and her husband in GA.  A brief time, just sharing a lunch.  I expected this to be one of at least a few trips north.  It wasn't to be.

So here I write, left with another friend vacancy.  The golden ones are so rare, and so many have been snatched away.  But I am grateful to have known Sabrina, a true friend.  May your eternity be blessed.