Sara Lee Gibb

December 30, 1937 - April 12, 2019

Sara Lee Heileson Gibb passed away peacefully at her home Friday, April 12, 2019 surrounded by her family. Funeral Services for Sara Lee will be held at the LDS Chapel, located at 450 South 100 West, Orem Utah. A viewing will be held Friday, April 19, 2019 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 20, 2019, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. Funeral at 11:00 a.m. Sara Lee was born in Rexburg, Idaho and grew up in the shadow of the Grand Teton Mountains in Tetonia, Idaho, USA. Sara Lee and J. David Gibb were married on July 29, 1965, in the Idaho Falls Temple. They have five beautiful children, fifteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren. Sara Lee is the daughter of Ralph Ammon Heileson and Thora Ellen Ricks Heileson. She has five older sisters and one younger brother. She was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters. She started her illustrious career in 1962 as head of the Dance Department at Ricks College in Rexburg Idaho. In 1965 she and David moved to Provo, Utah, and Sara Lee started as a Dance Professor at Brigham Young University. She retired 44 years later as the Dean of the College of Health and Human Performance. Listed below are some of her most notable accomplishments. She developed the dance teacher preparation program at BYU, and has mentored numerous teachers now placed in higher education, and public education institutions, and private sector schools throughout the world. She founded the BYU Children’s Creative Dance Program with Virginia Tanner as consultant. This program continues today to influence generations of young dancers. Sara Lee was invited to give keynote speeches and teaching residencies in Japan, Korea, New Zealand, China and most recently, she was invited to read a paper at a prestigious conference at Oxford University in England. She was instrumental in organizing and directing the first study abroad program in China for BYU dance students. From 2003 to 2009 she hosted a BYU ‘Leadership in Arts Education’ conference for Chinese arts leaders and educators, bringing 92 distinguished guests to BYU. This program continued under the direction of Jiamin Huang after Sara Lee retired. Sara Lee was honored to be a founding member of the National Dance Education Organization and served as President for two years, and was on the NDEO Board of Directors since its inception in 1998 until several years after she retired from BYU. As an advocate for the arts Sara Lee completed 8 years of service as a member of the Board of Directors of the Utah Arts Council (a governor’s appointment) and served as Chair of the Board for the last 3 of those years. Subsequently she was elected to the national board of the prestigious NASAA (the National Association of State Arts Agencies). She was president of the National Dance Association, and served 6 years as the United States Representative for daCi, (Dance and the Child International) and was instrumental in starting the daCi USA chapter, where she continued on the board for three years. Sara Lee has received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from NDEO, and the Karl G Maerser Distinguished Teaching Award from BYU. She was a published author and the list of her publications, research projects, and creative works was extensive. Sara Lee’s greatest joy and sense of fulfillment was not found in her professional career. She found her greatest satisfaction when surrounded by her family, and in her tireless and extensive service to her Lord. She touched the hearts and minds of every age group as a teacher, mentor and counselor. She was a legendary gospel doctrine teacher, and the organist in every ward in which she and David lived. When she played her beautiful prelude music, people actually listened. She carried this wonderful spirit of love, desire to serve, and her ability to be a righteous influence, with her into the mission field. She and David fulfilled two missions together. They spent two years serving in the Asia Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, living in Hong Kong, and another 18 months in the England Leeds Mission. They still regularly receive correspondence from people in those missions who’s lives they touched. When Sara Lee would talk about her mission experience, she would always stress the great blessings to be received from being in the service of the Lord. She was an avid gardner that seemed to have an innate ability to make things grow. She spent much of her summers working in her beautiful gardens and caring for her 12 fruit trees. She then spent her falls canning and preserving her bounty. She delighted in sharing her fresh fruit and vegetables with all her family, friends and neighbors. Of all the places she and David traveled throughout the world, her favorite place was with her children in the family cabin in Island Park, Idaho. The family has endless happy memories of their times there together. Shortly before she slipped peacefully through the veil, she stated that her only regret was that she would not be able to go to the cabin just once more. She leaves a void that cannot be filled. Her family is confident however, that her special abilities, her boundless energy, and ability to love unconditionally, must be needed beyond the veil even more than they are needed here. We will miss her laugh, her gentle touch, and her remarkable example of what it truly means to be a righteous daughter of God. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary