Class: 1976
Major: Psychology
Residence: Bethesda, MD
Deceased: February 2, 2026
Alumni survivors: Anne Thomas ’74 (Sibling-in-law) · Peter Thomas ’77, W76 (Widow/Widower)
Sara, Silver Springs, MD, was born in Japan and grew up mostly in Europe and Asia. Her family moved frequently, following her father as an undercover US intelligence officer.
A psychology major at Carleton, she earned a graduate degree in social work (University of Washington) and doctorate in human development (Harvard). After a few years on the U of MN social-work faculty, she and her husband, Peter Thomas ’77, moved to the Washington, DC, area, where she pursued writing and teaching, and a small psychotherapy practice.
Sara wrote several books, including two memoirs.* She was generous in her support of other writers. In the last several years of her life, she worked with young Afghan women. In addition to Pater, she is survived by daughter Maud, son Forrest and a grandson.
*Born Under an Assumed Name: The Memoir of a Cold War Spy’s Daughter, and Black Water and Tulips: My Mother, the Spy’s Wife, a Mother-Daughter Memoir.
Comments
I met Sara in Japan when she was a student at Kobe Academy where Bob and I were teaching. I also met her mother who was
living in Vietnam. We were interested in adopting a daughter from Vietnam, and Lois Taber found a small girl in an orphanage who had been left on a road, a burning village nearby. The adoption process took a long time. Meanwhile, we had adopted a girl from Korea. We were too naive to understand how post traumatic stress due to war would effect our girls, but we have all survived. We did maintain contact with Sara and Lois who had such a profound impact on our lives and we are forever grateful for both of them.