Sarah (Davol) Test, 95, of Indianapolis and Westport Harbor, MA, died on November 19th, four days after the death of her beloved husband of 56 years, Dr. Charles E. Test. She is survived by her children Charles D. Test of Minneapolis, MN; Abigail B. Test of Scituate, RI; stepdaughter Deborah T. Rempis (Andrew) of Wellesley, MA; stepson Samuel T. Test of Oakland, CA; grandsons Alexander C. Rempis (Ricky Gresh) of Warwick, RI and David A. Rempis of Chicago, IL: great-granddaughter Nora Gresh; nieces Elizabeth W. Clark of Indianapolis and Joan Staubach (Edward) of Spenser, IN; nephew Benjamin D. Davol (Patricia) of Farmington, CT; and several great nieces and nephews. Sarah was born and raised in Fall River, MA, the daughter of Charles Dean Davol and Sylvia Buffinton Davol. She was preceded in death by her siblings Fidelia Davol of Fall River, MA, Elizabeth D. Woodard of Indianapolis and Charles D. Davol, Jr. of Stonington, CT. She graduated from the Master's School in Dobbs Ferry, NY. After working a few years following graduation, she joined the Red Cross at the latter part of World War II. After training, she was sent to New Caledonia in the Pacific theater and was assigned to the 31st hospital. In the spring of 1945 the hospital was ordered to pack up and board ship for Okinawa and the planned invasion of Japan. Following the Japanese surrender, Sarah was ordered to Seoul, South Korea, where the staff was set up in a former Japanese hospital. In 1946 the hospital was closed and Sarah received her orders to return to the U.S. where she went to work to pay for her college tuition. A new program called The Veterans Extension Program had been set up at Brown University in Providence RI, Although she was not technically a veteran, because of her work with the Red Cross, she was accepted into the program, and a year later she transferred into the women's college, Pembroke, at Brown, where she earned her A.B. in psychology. After graduation she taught school for three years in Norwalk, CT, before returning to Japan where she taught school to the children of the U.S. occupying troops at Sasebo, on the island of Kyushu, not returning home until the end of the Korean conflict. In 1954, while visiting Indianapolis, she met her future husband, Dr. Test, a widower with two young children. They were married eight months later on February 2, 1955. Two more children were born in the next few years. Sarah was a member of the Progressive Club, the Dramatic Club, the Columbia Club, the Athletic Club, the Indianapolis Women's Club, the Fall River Historical Society, the Acoaxet Club, Elephant Rock Beach Club and the Westport River Watershed Alliance. She was a devoted supporter of the Nature Conservancy; R.U.E., the continuing education program for women at Brown University; and the Indiana University School of Medicine Kenya Partnership in El Doret, Kenya. As a way to maintain her New England ties, Sarah and her husband built a second home in Westport Harbor, MA. where they summered from 1957-2008. As they aged, they spent more time there among their numerous friends and Sarah' s extended family. Sarah treasured Westport for its natural beauty, proximity to the ocean and many fond memories. Visiting hours will be held on November 30th from at the Flanner and Buchanan, Broad Ripple Mortuary. Funeral services will be held at The First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, Indianapolis, on December 1st, followed by interment at Crown Hill Cemetery. [Taken from Indianapolis Star online obituary, published November 27, 2011]
Sources:
census records
Massachusetts, Birth Index, 1901-1960 and 1967-1970
U.S. School Yearbooks- Pembroke College, Providence RI
Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011
Contributor: J Ward (49133479)