Sara Dale Kennedy was born on March 18, 1965 , to Dale and Barbara Kennedy, and she died unexpectedly on Sunday, May 7, 2017. She attended Beresford public schools. Classes were challenging, but she enjoyed special friends, Todd Anderson and Julie Hustrulid.  Grandma Alice and Aunt Dag were big in her younger life, too.  Sara had fun on the farm with Pedro, the pony, and the two dogs, Tiffany Sue and Molly.

At age 19, she was accepted into the Sioux Vocational program in Sioux Falls.  Later, she moved to Minneapolis to live and worked at various part-time positions.  Her friend, Dan, and Sara would take the bus all over Minneapolis – enough that Sara could give Dale directions when he got lost.

Sara loved her birds, Tweety and Macy (now deceased).  She had a subtle, sarcastic sense of humor.  She'd say, "Yeah, right."  When P.J. and Julie married, Sara and John Kelly "decorated" their '66 Chevelle but Sara gleefully denied throwing handfuls of rice that can still be found in the car's ash trays.

Sara enjoyed fireworks, friends, the Minnesota Vikings, cigarettes, and Red Lobster.  She liked country music but moved on to rap.  She was fortunate to have Ann Kennedy and her husband, Val, as a big part of her Minnesota life.  In recent years, Sara had caring support services with Vishwani (Sara insisted on calling her Swanee!) and Corrina.  Sara managed to make a special friend in the few places she lived, most recently, Lovey, who Sara called "Mom."  She truly wanted to be independent and have her own life, but at times, that was difficult.

She was preceded in death by her dad, Dale.  Sara is survived by her mother, Barbara; son, Zachary (Sara always dreamed of seeing him again to know how he grew up); siblings Craig (Karen) Kennedy, Julie (P.J.) Skrzypek, and Lynn (Kenny) Twedt, four nieces, three nephews, one great-niece, one great-nephew.

In lieu of flowers, donate to SESDAC in Vermillion, Lifescape in Sioux Falls, or Helping Hand in Brandon.  Most important, please include someone who's unique, accept someone who acts weird, encourage someone who is struggling, support families of special needs kids, and advocate for quality special education and accessible mental health services.

As Sara Dale used to say, "Sorry, I forgot to laugh!"

A memorial service will be held 1:00 PM, Friday, May 12, 2017 at Wass Funeral Home in Beresford.