Sarah Lauren Grube

Sarah Lauren Grube, age 23, passed away unexpectedly April 12, 2024. A 2018 graduate of Shaker Heights High School and 2022 graduate of Yale University, Sarah is survived by her loving parents, Brian and Amy (Alden) Grube; sweet brothers Samuel and Luke Grube; doting grandparents, Ray and Mollie Grube and Erick and Nancy Alden; beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins; devoted friends; fellow musicians; tireless advocates for those in need; and countless others whose lives she touched with her generous spirit, unyielding sense of right and wrong, and infectious laughter.

Sarah filled her much-too-short life with a love of music, a passion for helping others, and an ever-growing faith.  Growing up in Solon and then Shaker Heights, Sarah began piano lessons at an early age and has been making music ever since. She was also once a fierce defender on the soccer pitch. But music was Sarah’s true love. At Shaker, she played in the wind ensemble and marching band, serving as field commander her senior year. And then there was her voice—never hard to hear, and impossible to forget.  Sarah studied voice at the Cleveland Institute of Music and sang with the Cleveland Youth Chorus and the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

Even in high school Sarah had a passionate (and loud) voice for equality in education, health, and LGBTQ rights.  She served as President of the Shaker’s Gay Straight Alliance and as a National Student Council Leader for GLSEN. She spoke with school leaders about bias and diversity and helped make changes to the health curriculum.  Sarah also was active in the youth group at Plymouth Church, and of course sang in the church choir.

At Yale, Sarah found her musical “home and family” in the Glee Club where she loved singing with friends more than anyone her director could recall. Starting out as “the girl who just wanted to sing the high parts,” she graduated to singing solos, serving as club manager, and in her senior year being chosen to be an assistant conductor. University Church was her spiritual home, where Sarah served as a student deacon, a beloved member of the choir, and an unfailing resource for students who needed guidance, support, or just someone to listen.

While you could most often find Sarah in one of the campus music buildings, she also studied political science and dove into Yale and New Haven politics.  As a freshman, Sarah began organizing with Students Unite Now, a student advocacy group seeking to improve access to mental health resources and financial aid.  She also joined New Haven Rising, a community organization of residents committed to economic, racial, and social justice. Sarah marched and protested for what she believed, even if it meant getting arrested (twice). The second time she proudly sent her parents a picture of her next to Jesse Jackson being handcuffed while marching for voting reform legislation.

Sarah also served as a Teaching Artist with New Haven’s “Music in the Schools” program, embracing young musicians through hours of rehearsals and even providing virtual lessons from Ohio during COVID. She also led an after-school music program at the New Haven Boys and Girls Club, and regularly volunteered at a soup kitchen, a homeless shelter, and the Red Cross.

After graduating, Sarah interned for UNITE HERE Local 34 and late last year became a full-time staff researcher with UNITE HERE Local 217, supporting university employees and hospitality workers in Connecticut. Only last week, Sarah helped Local 217 to secure a new labor agreement with the University of New Haven after a 10-hour strike. And she could not have been prouder of what she and her coworkers accomplished for the union members.

Sarah’s voice, energy, and spirit filled every room she graced—or barged into. She was a beautiful human being and a force of nature. Her passing will leave a void in the many communities and friends she loved and a gaping hole in all our hearts.

A Funeral Service and reception will be held beginning at 2 PM on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, 2860 Coventry Rd, Shaker Heights, Ohio, 44120. The service also will be live streamed at www.plymouthchurchucc.org/livestream. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Plymouth Church, https://www.plymouthchurchucc.org/; University Church in Yale, P.O. Box 209078, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-9078; or University Hospitals Research Education Institute to support ongoing mood disorder studies by the UH Department of Psychiatry Research Division (contact information forthcoming).