Sarah Meyer, woman killed in crash, remembered as kind and loving

IDAHO FALLS — Sarah Meyer lived her life helping others.

Whether it was giving money to a homeless man, spoiling her nieces and nephews, visiting the widow down the street, or texting a kind message to a co-worker, Meyer’s sisters and friends say she constantly cared for those around her.

The 45-year-old died Friday night after her vehicle was hit by a car at the intersection of Hitt Road and John Adams Parkway. Meyer had just been through the haunted car wash at Pony Express with Rodney Pierce, a friend driving another vehicle.

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“She had reached out to me on the way home from work and wanted to go to dinner at a Mexican restaurant. She loved Mexican food,” Pierce tells EastIdahoNews.com. “After dinner, we went over to the car wash and went through three different times.”

Meyer left the car wash and stopped at the intersection at a red light. That’s when police say a man, who has not been identified, made a right turn toward Pony Express, left his lane and hit the driver’s side of Meyer’s vehicle. Her car was pushed into a power pole and his vehicle flipped onto its roof. Meyer died at the scene, and the other driver was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Devoted to family

Meyer was one of five girls in her family, all of whom live in eastern Idaho. The sisters were close, and she spoke with each of them the day she died.

“She was the oldest child in our family. She was always the one in charge – the person who took care of everything,” says Liz Meyer, Sarah’s sister. “When we played games, she was super competitive and would try to find a way to sabotage you. If you won, she’d be so upset but would get over it right away.”

The night before she died, Meyer was at one of her nephew’s soccer games. She loved supporting her 11 nieces and nephews at sporting, school and music events and looked forward to planning trips with each of them.

She had already begun Christmas shopping, and some of their presents were in her car the night she passed away.

“I think she would want to be remembered for how much love she had for all of us kids. If we were having a problem, she’d just pick us up, and we’d go to a movie,” says Sophia Lopez, one of Meyer’s nieces. “She was so dedicated and involved in all of our lives.”

One of her nephew’s birthdays was Saturday, the day after the crash, and Meyer had planned to take him out to celebrate.

“She just loved those kids. She took my daughter to New York a couple years ago and my son to Las Vegas,” recalls Carolyn Heward, Meyer’s sister. “She always promised my kids she would take them on a trip, and they always knew they’d get to go on a trip with Sarah.”

World traveler and sports

Meyer loved to explore and traveled the globe with family members and friends.

She visited Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and other countries. She’s driven across the country and been on several cruises. Liz often accompanied her on the trips and the sisters were planning to visit cemeteries in Indiana soon to work on family history.

“She was the person I could always travel with. She loved to go explore and was always planning where we were going next and who was coming with us,” Liz says. “We are both really into family history and loved discovering new things.”

Another sister, Anna Meyer, says sports were also one of Meyer’s passions.

“She played sports in high school and loved watching them,” Anna says. “She would take me to the events with her, and every time she had a game, I’d be there. She was just the best. She was outgoing, always had a joke and when someone needed uplifted, she would be there.”

Rubi Lopez, Anna’s wife and Meyer’s sister-in-law, recalls Sarah asking her to go skiing years ago.

“I had just started working with her, and she invited me to go skiing. I told her no, I don’t want to break a leg,” Lopez says. “So she goes skiing and guess what? She broke a leg.”

Sarah’s Cinderella story

While attending Idaho State University, Meyer worked at Wendy’s on Broadway Street in Idaho Falls. After earning a business degree, she became manager of the restaurant.

On a slow night several years ago, she sent most of the employees home and was working the drive-thru. Wendy’s had just installed a new beverage machine with a variety of flavors, and a man pulled up to place his order. He asked Meyer for a drink suggestion, and she offered one – then told him if he didn’t like it, she would get him something else.

“She was very kind to the customer, and when he pulled around to the window, the man told Sarah he needed good people like her to come and work for him. He saw something in her,” Liz recalls. “He said, ‘I want you to call Melaleuca and tell them Frank told you to call.’ She looked at him and said, ‘Frank? As in Frank VanderSloot?'”

It was VanderSloot, and Meyer soon began working at Melaleuca, a job she loved. Liz says her sister referred to the chance encounter at Wendy’s as her “Cinderella story” because it led to a dream job with co-workers, like Pierce, who became lifelong friends.

“She just loved to have fun and spent most of her free time helping others – whether it was friends or people in her (Latter-day Saint) ward or neighbors. She just loved helping,” Pierce says. “She’s my hero.”

Remembering Sarah

Meyer was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and prayed for ways to help others while serving in different positions within the church.

“She listened to the inspiration that she got. Whether it meant picking up a homeless person who needed a ride or sending a text to a widower, and it just happened to be his birthday that day – she listened to the promptings she got almost every single time,” says Krista Sessions, a friend. “She would say, ‘I’m just doing the Lord’s work and doing what he can’t do because he’s not here.'”

Suzanne Pickering, another friend, says losing Meyer has left a hole in many lives because Meyer was connected to so many people.

“She took the time and gave the time to everyone she met. That’s what I want people to remember her as – reaching out and touching so many lives,” Pickering says.

Immediately after the crash on Friday, Pierce was in touch with Meyer’s family. All of the sisters and other family members and friends rushed to the scene and learned Meyer was gone. They cried, held each other and tried to make sense of what occurred.

“We don’t know what happened, but no matter what, Sarah is so forgiving and wouldn’t want us to hold anything against the other driver,” Liz says, holding back tears. “Sarah’s OK. There should be no anger or hatred or animosity about the situation. She would want us to forgive.”

Meyer’s funeral will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday at the Iona South Stake Center. She will be buried next to her grandparents in the Wilford Cemetery.

While she may be gone, her life of love will live on in so many others.

“One of her friends said if you look up the word ‘kind’ in the dictionary, there should be a picture of Sarah,” Liz says. “She was the most nonjudgemental person I have ever met, and I think the best way we can remember Sarah is by remembering others.”