Sarah Best passed away on Wednesday, January 29th, 2025, at the age of 33. She was among those who perished on the tragic American Airlines flight in Washington, D.C.
We invite you to add your favorite memories with Sarah to this page: you can write messages, upload photos, and also add short videos.
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Friends of Sarah We had so much fun celebrating our marriage with Sarah. She and Dan brought so much joy with them - I think the photos speak for themselves.
Friends of S. (This is Michelle Wang and Morgan Talbot)
Loved By
SZ
Esther Kang HEHEHE
Loved By
JBMHSZ
Esther Kang A full goof
Loved By
SZ
chrissy
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Loved By
SZ
Sabrina Minhas
Loved By
SZ
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Sabrina Minhas
Loved By
MH
Sabrina Minhas
1 2022
Jen Best Quick trip to Sedona! Only this couple would want to do 3 hikes in 2 days lol
Loved By
SZ
13 Sep 2022
Jen Best Her 31 birthday in Philly
Jul 2021
Jen Best Meeting blackbutt and working in the garden
Loved By
SZ
chrissy
Anna Johnson
Meghan Henrich Judge Cronan got this made and had it printed on a mug for Sarah. Everything she is holding are references to some of the cases she worked on!
Meghan Henrich
Meghan Henrich Chambers trip to the Mets game!
Meghan Henrich
Meghan Henrich Korean Hearts ❤️❤️
Meghan Henrich Sarah at my engagement party ❤️❤️
Meghan Henrich I love you so much Sarah ❤️
Loved By
JB
Meghan Henrich Always lifting me up ❤️
Meghan Henrich
Anna Johnson
Jul 2021
Jen Best half moon bay, love and fun wherever they are
chrissy
Holly
Meghan Henrich ❤️❤️❤️
Bailey Suh
Bailey Suh Junior year of highschool. We made it our pigtail day.
Bailey Suh Visiting in savannah in 2012.
2008
Bailey Suh Starbucks coffee date in high school. Sarah always had the frappe.
2017
Bailey Suh Korean karaoke for at my wedding in nyc.
28 Jan 2021
Kellen McCoy Sarah winning Keedy and being named Best Oralist (over Zoom).
Kellen McCoy
Loved By
C
Emily S
Derek Elkins
Derek Elkins
Derek Elkins
chrissy sarah yeeting her grad cap into the stratosphere, probably
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy new york. the PB mango cake was a recurring character
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy sarah (and esther) embarrassing me with their couple outfits
chrissy nashville, not athens
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy APALSA baby 1Ls after oral arguments
chrissy that’s my drink she’s holding, but she made me switch for the photos because my glass was “more sarah” than hers and hers was “more chrissy”
chrissy
chrissy
chrissy
Loved By
JBSZ
chrissy
chrissy
2019
Sara Zhou End of 1L
Roger Li
Loved By
ES
Coco Chinese food followed by mango mango - our favorite tradition in philly and New York
Anita Thank you for making college fun with me … 😭 🥺
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca P. When half-marathon RACE DAY always regrettably became our first day of training…
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
18 Aug 2022
Allison Fowler Weekend lake day on Laurel Lake in London KY! (Kentucky clerkship)
Loved By
JB
Rebecca Pietrzak
Loved By
JB
18 Aug 2022
Allison Fowler Whittling her first stick (Kentucky clerkship)
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca Pietrzak
Rebecca P. Forever grateful for Jenis ice cream dates
Rebecca Pietrzak
Loved By
JB
Rebecca Pietrzak
Cynthia Morton
Cynthia Morton
Cynthia Morton
Loved By
JBCM
2017
Cynthia Morton
24 Nov 2017
Cynthia Morton
Loved By
CM
24 Nov 2017
Cynthia Morton
Loved By
JB
Esther Kang Sarah said she’d get a bob with me when we went to Flushing. While my hairdresser was snipping, she said “nah I’m just going to get an inch off”LOOOOL
Esther Kang Sarah meeting my cousin and asking her about her childhood trauma
Rebecca P. I think I remeber her telling me about this! Not the details, just the event. Sarah loved getting to know people deeply.
Esther Kang Sarah meeting my other best friend Madhu and asking about her childhood trauma
Esther Kang
Esther Kang
Coco Sarah doing acro for the first time and excelling as she does. Though zoom in to see the terror in her eyes🤣
May 2013
Annie Sarah's undergrad graduation! with loving family
Dec 2010
Annie A snowy Christmas at the Best house. Snowdog made in honor of Junior by Sarah.
2011
Annie Sarah's 20th birthday with a cute smile
Jun 2013
Annie visiting Sarah in Memphis
2011
Annie studying hard while being cute. Sarah made the best rounded cookies.
Steven Dallas
Steven Dallas
Steven Dallas
Steven Dallas
Steven Dallas
chrissy such a cute pic until you zoom in on the utter consternation on pepper’s face
Esther Kang A full derp
2008
Chelsea Carpenter Celebrating Sarah's birthday at Dairy Queen our senior year
2009
Chelsea Carpenter
2007
Chelsea Carpenter Our AP Chemistry class
22 Mar 2014
James Lee Sarah, Jen, and Jessica at Jen's medical school match day
Michelle Wang Waking up at 4am to line up for SCOTUS oral arguments with Sarah. We made it into the courtroom!
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Loved By
JB
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Michelle Wang
Aug 2024
Jen Best Testing feasibility of a baby shower game. Silly as hell but giving her all like always
Loved By
JB
2018
Sara Zhou Sarah drew this picture of me holding my cat Daisy after hearing me complain about how Daisy would never let me pick her up.
Daniel Solomon My Mom's favorite picture of us
Daniel Solomon Our first big trip together, to the Canadian Rockies in summer 2015: this is when we knew for sure we were going to go the distance!
Daniel Solomon Relaxing on the rooftop of our Philly apartment in 2023
Daniel Solomon Sarah with her study plushies
Loved By
SZ
Daniel Solomon ... and Sarah with her nap plushy
Daniel Solomon another turkey dinner down!
Daniel Solomon with my brother in my home town of Vicenza
Loved By
SZ
Daniel Solomon our pack at rest
Daniel Solomon When Sarah spent a year in Kentucky, she would drive 300 miles to see me at last once a month, with Kerby as her copilot
Daniel Solomon Hiking the Amalfi Coast!
Daniel Solomon Sarah winning the Keedy Cup!
Daniel Solomon Family hike in Sedona
Daniel Solomon Back for Dad's birthday!
Loved By
SZ
Daniel Solomon getting into the Christmas spirit
Daniel Solomon
Daniel Solomon my addition to the iconic Law School graduation photo
Daniel Solomon What Sarah wanted, not just for me, but for us all
Daniel Solomon Sarah being told she needs to eat more vegetables
Daniel Solomon Sarah, Kerby, and Noah!
6 Jan 2009
Bailey Suh Sarah's high school graduation
Bailey Suh
15 Sep 2007
Bailey Suh Sarah's birthday. Circa ~2007-2008
2012
Bronwen Wickkiser In Athens for a Vanderbilt course (here w/ Emily Cook). Brilliant, empathetic, curious: Sarah was a delight as a student and friend.
2020
Maura Slocum Sarah and I went to a candle making class in Philadelphia.
Maura SlocumSarah introduced herself during a seminar
I went to at Penn law school. I had just started my PhD that semester, the fall of
2019. I didn't have any friends in Philadelphia yet, and she took me under her wing.
We started meeting up for coffee to talk about our personal lives and society. I was so impressed and intimidated by her, but l was really honored that she wanted to be my friend.
I was going through a bad break up at the time, and she listened without judgement or hesitation. When I was feeling really down, she took me to a candle and wine stored where we made candles and talked.
When the COVID pandemic hit, we decided to do 10 push ups every day to stay sane.
We would send each other videos of
ourselves doing the 10 push ups to "prove it". I'm still working on finding those videos.
We stopped talking as much as lockdown extended into the summer, and when she graduated we lost touch. I would have loved to reconnect with her and in my heart I like to think she'll always be my friend.
Being brave is something that Sarah did naturally and without hesitation. I hope to step outside my comfort zone and do something brave in her honor.
Love and comfort to her family, I know she cared for you all so much.19th February, 2025
Sara ZhouSarah is one of the most brilliant, yet most kind and genuine people I have ever met. She was there for me during the gloomiest days of my life, and reminded me of my worth when I considered myself the worst failure by all worldly standards. Some days I regretted going to law school, but the thought would fade when I realize that I would not have gotten to know Sarah otherwise. As a diehard Disney fan, I once asked what Sarah’s favorite Disney movie was, and she told me it was Zootopia. Sarah was like Judy Hopps in so many ways. Courageous, resilient, intelligent, yet gentle and caring, working so hard to make the world a better place. I love you, Sarah, and I’m forever thankful for you. You have made the world a better place by being here.5th February, 2025
Emily CookMy heart goes out to Sarah’s family and loved ones during this difficult time. I got to know Sarah while she was a student at Vanderbilt and from the moment we met it was clear how special she was— kind, brilliant, and hardworking. Her belief in me as a teacher and friend transformed my life, and I’ll be forever grateful for the example she set as someone deeply committed to serving her community and making the world a better place. May her memory be a blessing. 5th February, 2025
Chelsea CarpenterMy first memory of Sarah was years before I actually knew her. In 5th grade, I broke my arm and graded papers for another 5th grade teacher instead of attending gym class. After the first week of grading, I remember thinking that every student in our grade should give up hope of being valedictorian since I knew that Sarah Best would earn it because she was THE best (spoiler alert- I was 100% right). I could often use her paper as the answer sheet because it was almost always perfect. Fast forward to high school, and she quickly became one of my best friends. We spent hours together studying for tests, competing at Junior Classical League competitions, and both being either the president or vice president of National Honor Society and Beta Club. She was the Supreme Being to my Celestial Leader (nerdy nicknames we came up with to match our initials). When I learned that she became a teacher after college, it didn’t surprise me because she had been practicing for years with not just me but everyone around her. She always had the patience to explain something to you and never made you feel dumb for not understanding it, even though she often understood it immediately. She was easily one of the brightest and most creative people I have ever met, while also being one of the humblest and kindest. Even though we lost touch after high school, I am devastated at the loss of such an amazing person who made both me and everyone else around her a better person. 3rd February, 2025
Nina RogersSarah, you made me better. May your memory be a blessing. 1st February, 2025
Michelle WangI don’t know how to put into words something that feels impossible to accept. Sarah wasn’t just one of my closest friends. She was my family. My rock. My law school soulmate. We were in the same section in 1L and bonded almost immediately. We took every doctrinal class together, chose many of the same electives, and joined many of the same activities. We did everything together. Every late-night study session, every cold call survived, every victory and setback—she was there. When I tell people I loved law school, what I really mean is that I loved every moment with Sarah.
Sarah didn’t stop being that person after law school. She celebrated me for every time I achieved something, no matter how small. She supported me through life decisions, moments of doubt, and figuring out what truly mattered. She listened with so much care and made everything clearer. On my wedding day, she delivered a speech as my bridesmaid that moved me to tears. I remember looking at her that day, thinking how lucky I was to have her in my life, how she would be there for all the moments still to come.
Sarah lifted everyone around her, not because she had to, but because that’s just who she was. She was also one of the most hardworking, ambitious people I’ve ever known. She never did anything halfway—she threw herself fully into everything she pursued and held herself to the highest standard. But she balanced that ambition and intensity with an unwavering kindness and selflessness. She always had time for everyone around her—no matter how much was on her plate—to listen, to encourage, to be your rock, and to remind you of who you were when you forgot.
She deserved a lifetime of joy, of love, of everything she ever dreamed of. And though she was taken from us too soon, she filled every moment she had with purpose, with a goodness so rare and so deep that it will never fade.1st February, 2025
