Feminist, philosopher, and activist, Sara Ebenreck Leeland (Van Raalte) passed away March 5, 2024, at home in Albuquerque, NM, with her son Jered Ebenreck and daughterin- law Amy LaGrange at her side. Sara was born in May 1937 in Leland MI, the first daughter and second child of John K. and Luella M. (Nelson) Van Raalte. Growing up in Leland, next to the river, between Lake Michigan and Lake Leelanau was pivotal for Sara. Environmental ethics, particularly related to water, became a focus in her life. In her later years, Sara chose “Leeland” as her last name to reflect that connection.
Sara attended Leland Public School and St. Mary’s School in Lake Leelanau, graduating from St. Mary’s in 1955 as Co-Valedictorian. She attended Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, graduating in 1959.
Sara joined the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1957 where she was a highly regarded member of the community and a much-loved teacher. She taught at Marywood Academy and Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, and Saints Peter and Paul in Saginaw, Michigan. She earned her master’s degree in philosophy from Catholic University in Washington D.C.
After leaving the convent in 1969, Sara lived in The Bronx, New York City, and earned her PhD in Western Philosophy from Fordham University in 1971. Sara and Clyde Ebenreck, also a philosopher, married in 1971 and moved to Maryland where they welcomed their son Jered in 1973.
Sara was a gifted writer, speaker, editor, and independent consultant, combining her interests in applied philosophy, the environment, world peace and women’s studies in unique and important ways. Sara wrote at the turn of the century, “Embracing the millennium surely means moving into it with love. It means moving into it with confidence and hope, with some kind of vision of what we want to become as a people on this bright blue planet.” Sara moved with confidence and hope.
In the 1980s, Sara worked at Rodale Press where she learned how to lobby for federal environmental legislation. She was an Executive Editor of the publication American Land Forum and Co-Founder and editor of Earth Ethics.
From 1987 to 2002 Sara was on the faculty at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, focusing on environmental ethics and women’s voices in philosophy. She also helped shape the Patuxent Friends (Quaker) Meeting in those Maryland years.
Sara was involved in the Chesapeake Bay preservation efforts, editing Gather ‘round Chesapeake, a collection of Tom Wisner’s writings, and writing St. Leonard, A Maryland Tidewater Community. Sara, along with Tom Wisner, cofounded the Center for the Chesapeake Story (Chestory) that transitioned in 2010 to sponsorship by the Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society.
After retirement, in 2005 Sara moved to Holland, Michigan, the hometown of her father. She became very active in the community, serving as a Board member of the Holland Area League of Women Voters, becoming a member of the Holland Sentinel Community Advisory Board, teaching at the Hope Academy of Senior Professionals, and helping found the Lakeshore Women for Peace. To each of these endeavors she brought her research skills, her personal experiences, and her deep convictions.
In Holland, already in her 70s, Sara started a new endeavor, SaraLeelandBooks, helping people publish their writings. As the editor and online publisher, she helped 14 people produce books as varied as poetry, memoirs and a cookbook.
In 2017 Sara moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to live with Jered and Amy, enjoying her final years in the sunny warmth of their care and company and the climate there. For 7 years Sara worked with them to manage Alzheimer’s Dementia. She was gracious, kind, and practiced the art of presence until the end, never letting her confusion interfere with her joy of people, meaning, and beauty.
Sara is survived by her son Jered Ebenreck, daughter-in-law Amy LaGrange, sisters Virginia Logan, Elizabeth ( Jerry) Clark, and Rosie (Mike) Flannigan, her exhusband Clyde Ebenreck, numerous nieces, nephews and great-nieces and nephews, too many students and peers to name, and her best friend of 80 years, Susie Cordes. She was predeceased by her parents, her brother and sister-in-law John and Janice Van Raalte, sister Nora and brother-in-law Tom Malloy and brotherin- law John Logan.
Contributions in Sara’s memory can be made to: League of Women Voters of the Holland Area - https://www.lwvholland.org/ Poor People’s Campaign - https://www. poorpeoplescampaign.org/ Waking Women Healing Institute https://www.wakingwomenhealingint. org/ A “Sara Leeland Virtual Poetry Reading” will be held at a later date. The online obituary for The Neptune Society which can be viewed at the following link: https://neptunesociety.com/ obituaries/11697665. Family and friends can leave condolences and this site will stay up for one year.
