Sarah Webster Heald, 67, of Georgetown, Maine, passed away peacefully, in her sleep at home, on the morning of Aug. 3, 2024, after a three-and-a-half-year battle with cancer.

Born on May 14, 1957, to Clayton Heald and Kathrin Smith in Fort Myers, Florida, Sarah was raised on Georgetown Island where she spent as much time as possible on the family farm and the abutting Robinhood Cove. It was here, under the loving supervision of her grandparents, Harry and Ida Heald, and Uncle Frank and Aunt Belle, where she first developed her love for gardening, animals and cooking large meals for her family. Her grandmother Smith was also a huge influence, taking Sarah to the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City and a memorable childhood trip to Ireland with her Smith/Webster cousins.

Sarah attended Georgetown Central School and graduated from Georgetown’s Country Mile School which, in addition to traditional classes, offered teaching of trades, food cultivation and foraging and other life skills. She also obtained an associate degree from Mid-State College, in Auburn, to begin a career as a medical secretary.

In 1980, while living in East Boothbay, working in a doctor’s office and about to become a mother for the first time, Sarah couldn’t help but notice that the people who lived, worked in, and visited bustling Boothbay Harbor needed another source for good food. She thought homemade pizza could satisfy a local culinary void; specifically for the many boat builders and hotel staff members who had limited options during their late-night shifts. Soon after, she installed a small, second-hand commercial oven in her home. After briefly advertising with hand-drawn flyers and small spots in the Boothbay Register, her home phone started ringing with requests for pizza. Made to order, and initially delivery only (her husband and various family and friends made up the delivery fleet), Sarah’s homemade pizzas were an immediate local success. Soon after, she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant, at the head of Boothbay Harbor, transforming Chet Rittall’s former boat shop into the first iteration of Sarah’s Pizza.

For the 43 years that followed, Sarah owned and operated different locations of what would become Sarah’s Café in Boothbay Harbor, Bath and most notably and recently on the corner of Route 1 and Water Street in Wiscasset. She also developed a popular catering business that saw her organize and cook for many weddings and private events; undaunted to provide her expertise in settings that ranged from Sugarloaf Mountain to Squirrel Island.

Known for high-quality food made from scratch, a menu with an abundance of options, daily pastries and the wildly popular “soup and bread bar,” the restaurant was a fixture for locals and yearly visitors alike. While largely self-taught and having not initially set out to be a restaurateur (or business owner of any sort), Sarah quickly saw it as her way to contribute to her community, which would ultimately become her passion.

She took great pride in her opportunity to contribute in ways such as feeding first responders during Nor’easters, quietly donating meals to area schools and community groups and providing a positive setting for a local teenager’s first real-world job.

She also really loved the fact that there were a bunch of people out there who brought their families in for pizza every Friday, took away soup and bread for the entire office each week or came back each year for a huge piece of cake on their birthday. She truly enjoyed being there for people in those ways.

Sarah loved the honest work of a busy kitchen as well as the comradery and teamwork provided by restaurant life. While her success was largely built and sustained off her own hard work, Sarah preferred to give the credit to those who she worked with. The staff at Sarah’s Café through the years was truly her second family. The restaurant was a smaller community, a home really. A place where she problem solved with her peers, passed along wisdom to young people on the cusp of adulthood and where she could provide a boost of confidence or a second (or third) chance to someone who really needed it.

These reasons illustrate the true tribute to Sarah and her life’s work. In an industry with an unusually high turnover of employment, Sarah’s Café largely saw people stay, for longer than expected, in that small community she created. Over the course of the more than 40 years in operation, dozens of people worked over 10 years, many over 15 and a handful more than 20. The restaurant saw multiple instances where a parent and child were integral, long-term staff members. There are even two (known) marriages that took place because the members of the couples met and fell in love, while working together at Sarah’s. Sarah provided a special service, along with people she respected and enjoyed being around, for a community that she believed in and loved. For that, she was truly proud and grateful.

In the later part of her career and life, Sarah moved to the same family farmhouse she learned to cook with her grandmother and great aunt. Though conflicted about working less time in the restaurant (even somewhat bashful that she had made the transition to working a mere 8- to 10-hour workday), it was there she was able to reconnect with her first love: that of living the country life surrounded by her own personal community; her family. There, serving as matriarch to the family and land, where she was able to host lavish family holiday meals, graduation parties, and birthday celebrations. Over-the-top staff appreciation days for the employees at the restaurant became the norm, as she finally had the space to serve catered food, book live bands, and make sure her guests, of all ages, had a bouncy house to jump on.

In moving to her childhood home, Sarah had yet again, been the driving force behind another community; this one even smaller. Suddenly she brought an empty farmhouse and land to life, not only by hosting friends and family, but by replanting perennial gardens, rebuilding colonial-era stone walls and creating a space for her pet donkeys, goats, and chickens to thrive.

Sarah would say she was lucky enough to spend time, until the end of her life, in a place she truly loved and provided her with comfort and joy. In addition to finally having the proper venue to host a party her way, living on the farm gave her the long-awaited opportunity to spend more quality time with her beloved brothers, Howard, and Stephen, who she hadn’t had time to cook for, or order around, in years. It also saw her two sons move close by, allowing her to not only closely watch here grandchildren grow, but also cook with them and teach them, much in the same way that Ida and Belle had done for her.

Sarah spent her final days, surrounded by people who she loved and loved her. She could often be found, reading a mystery novel while drinking a cold beer, and enjoying the nature, history, and memories her home provided. To the reader, she would thank you for all the love, support and patronage for all those years. She was proud to be there for you in her own way. She would only ask that you do the same for those around you, in your own way.

Sarah was predeceased by her parents, Clayton Heald, Kathrin Smith Sulik, stepmother Geraldine Heald and stepbrother Arthur Collins.

She is survived by two brothers, Howard Heald and wife, Theresa, of Georgetown, Stephen Heald and wife, Naya, of Wiscasset. She leaves behind her two sons, Clayton Norris and wife, Jenna Friedman, of Georgetown, and Matthew Norris, of Georgetown and her beloved grandchildren, Miles and Elizabeth.

Sarah’s life and memory will be celebrated during a semi-private, informal gathering for family and friends at the Heald Farm on Sunday, Sept. 15, from noon to 4 p.m. For those who may have been missed on the formal invitation, but would like to join others to remember Sarah, they are welcome to come.

Memorial donations, in remembrance of Sarah’s life and love of community, may be made to: Georgetown Central School or contact: nmains@aos98schools.org Attn: Nicole Mains, 52 Bay Point Road.
Georgetown, ME 04548