October 15th, 1966 - April 2nd, 2024
Sarah (Bunkenburg) Lems, bastion of light and hope in the eyes of so many friends, family and students, died of glioblastoma in her home with her loving family holding her hand on April 2, 2024 at age 57.
Sarah focused her life’s energy on helping people heal. At age 10, Sarah developed Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). During a time when doctors regularly told patients that T1D would blind them, cause amputations and render them unable to bear children, Sarah took a path of positivity and self care, learning over many years to convert the fear about this disease into positive healing action that could help others. Sarah rode in seventeen 100-mile fundraiser bike rides over the years in support of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) and raised nearly one hundred thousand dollars to support the search for a cure. In the end, it wasn’t T1D that ended Sarah’s life. T1D never held her back, and her 47 year journey with the disease continues to inspire all that knew her.
Born in Ohio, she was an energetic girl who loved sports. Inspired by her father Bruce Bunkenburg who played college basketball for the University of Illinois, she took an early interest in fitness. Her family moved to Wisconsin when she was 11 and she flourished there as a high school athlete and excelled in math and science coursework. She studied engineering at Marquette University and worked for General Motors as an engineer after graduation. Friends she made along the way were always astounded by her perseverance, uplifted by her sense of humor, and warmed by her smile. She and Greg married in 1995 and had two children, Katrina and Megan.
Though she started her career as an engineer, she transitioned into fitness instruction in the 2000s after realizing how much she could help people. Sarah pursued thousands of hours of teacher training to become an instructor in a variety of fitness regimens encompassing yoga and pilates. People who were guided by Sarah in their practice loved her bright attitude and supportive direction. Always smiling and encouraging, she helped countless students push their boundaries, discover surprising things about themselves, and in some cases become instructors themselves.
Travel was an important part of Sarah’s life, she and Greg took many trips over the years to destinations including Istanbul, Italy, Mexico and Peru where they completed a 6-day camping trek on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Her list of destinations that she hadn’t yet traveled to serve as a reminder to us all - take that trip you’ve always been meaning to take now! You never know how much time you will have.
Sarah was a loving and encouraging mother to the two shining lights in her life, her daughters Katrina and Megan. She impressed upon them self reliance, a love of the natural world, and the absolutely crucial importance of long, solid belly-laughs. The girls meant everything to her and every day she spent with them filled her with love and joy. She and Greg walked Katrina down the aisle of her wedding a mere 3 weeks after Sarah’s terminal diagnosis, her family will cherish that moment forever.
Sarah is survived by her husband Greg Lems, daughters Katrina (Carter) Lems-Fortuin and Megan Lems, sister Beth Bunkenburg and sister-in-law Mimi (Mike) Repucci. Sarah is preceded in death by her parents Bruce and Jan Bunkenburg.
A celebration of life is being planned and will be held at a date in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the organization nearest and dearest to Sarah's heart, the JDRF, at this link: http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/sarahlems
