Sarah Jane Coston

It’s with great sorrow to announce the peaceful passing of Sarah Jane Cecilia Zappas Coston, 81, on Tuesday, 11 July 2023 in San Mateo, California. Sarah Jane Cecilia Zappas was born on 2 February 1942 in Petaluma, California to parents Gus & Edna Lavina Fitch. She was born at Petaluma General Hospital where her mother was also a nurse. Sarah was the only child but was a proud descendant of an early Californian pioneer family–Henry Delano Fitch & Josefa Carrillo dating back to the 18th century.

Sarah grew up in El Verano, CA as well as Sonoma, CA before joining the Army as a nurse and relocating to Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma. It is here she met and later married Vernon Coston who was also serving in the Army at that time. They would eventually settle in Norman, Oklahoma and start a family.  During her time in Oklahoma she became a huge Oklahoma Sooner football fan and followed them devoutly. She loved the outdoors and the family enjoyed camping trips together avidly and saw most of the USA while pulling a travel trailer.  Sarah was very social and was heavily involved in activities that both her sons took part in which included swimming, cycling, and music. Over the course of her life Sarah was very interested in genealogy and the history associated with her California upbringing, she traced her lineage back several centuries and was active in the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society as well.

Sarah was an avid cook and took pride in cooking and taking care of the household. She would eventually turn this into a cake decorating business that lasted for over 2 decades. This also influenced her son Patrick to become a chef–”I learned to cook at a very young age, I have my mom to thank for that, I was very lucky in that regard”.

After many years away Sarah eventually relocated back to San Mateo, California and she felt like she was returning home. It was here that she would continue to enjoy working with her hands as she enjoyed sewing, knitting, and later making quilts for the wounded warriors quilt project- ”those quilts she made gave her an immense sense of pride and she definitely felt that she was helping others”, she was good at taking care of others-says her eldest son Christopher. In returning to California she reconnected with the ocean, she loved driving to the ocean daily to watch and hear the waves.

Sarah is survived by her 2 sons–Christopher & Patrick, along with Kim, daughter-in-law, 2 grandchildren–Brad & Ethan, as well as Vernon Coston-her ex-husband whom she maintained a loving, caring relationship with throughout the years.

Private services will be held and Sarah’s remains will be placed alongside her parents at Mountain Cemetery in Sonoma. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Peninsula Quilters Guild at www.peninsulaquilters.org

Or to the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society at www.healdsburgmuseum.org

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