Sara Nuzum Burchard died of natural causes on May 27, 2026, at home in Burlington surrounded by family. She was 89 and lived a long and loving life.
Born in Janesville, Wisc., on March 8, 1937, Sara was the daughter of Dr. Thomas Ochsner Nuzum and Dorothy Langdon Nuzum. She was the fifth of six children and preceded in death by all of her siblings except her youngest sister, Jill.
Sara attended high school in Janesville, where she loved to play tennis and perform piano duets with her close friend Carol. She also cherished her time at the family lake cottage up north near Sugar Camp, Wisc., and later organized many happy summer reunions there that included her kids and their fun Nuzum cousins.
Sara went on to obtain her BS in mathematics from Denison University in 1958, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in three years. Sara met her husband, John, at Denison, and married in 1957. After graduation, John and Sara started their family and moved to Nebraska, Colorado, Washington and North Carolina before settling in Burlington, Vt., where John joined the faculty of the UVM psychology department. While raising four very active kids, Sara earned her PhD at UVM in 1977. She went on to teach undergraduate psychology at UVM and worked happily with her dear graduate students until she retired in 2007.
Sara was an avid outdoorswoman who loved hiking, canoeing, biking and spending time at the log cabin she and John built in the mountains nearby. Together, they mentored and supported their kids through their many athletic, musical, equine and educational pursuits. A gifted athlete herself, Sara enjoyed playing lifelong tennis with her friends, and walking the trails with her beloved dogs.
In their later years, Sara and John traveled the world together, frequently to consult, conduct research and reach out to assist indigenous peoples. They visited such faraway places as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Russia, Europe, India, Mexico and Alaska, making lasting friendships with people from different backgrounds and cultures wherever they went!
Sara and John were also known for their extraordinary hospitality. Their home was a gathering place for neighborhood children and a welcoming refuge for many young people. Whether celebrating life’s successes or navigating difficult times, countless individuals found friendship, encouragement and a home away from home at the Burchards’.
In 1988, the family lost their beloved son and brother, Charlie, and in 2004 lost John to a long illness. Never one to sit still, Sara decided to walkabout. Among other trips, Sara walked across northern England with her friend Laura, walked part of El Camino de Santiago in Spain with her friend Marilyn, rafted the Grand Canyon with her friend Gayle, and skied across Québec with her friends Catherine and Ed.
Sara was devoted to important causes, especially environmental conservation, social justice and women’s rights. Sara was strong and unflappable, whether marching at protests or traveling across the country to go door to door to “Get Out the Vote!” with her beloved and late niece, Jenny. She was an organizer for Grandmothers for Democracy, served as Bernie Sanders’ campaign treasurer when he was Burlington’s mayor and, as a Red Cross volunteer, provided grief counseling to emergency responders at Ground Zero in the first days after 9/11.
Sara also knew how to have fun. She loved to sing, play the piano and dance, especially with her kids, grandkids and her son John’s band, Hoopla. Whether at a family gathering or celebration or simply enjoying a moment together, Sara always could be counted on to get people moving and smiling. To her family, she will forever be remembered as their dearly loved “Dancing Grami.”
Sara is survived by her children, John (Vicki) of Glenview, Ill., Dan (Jane) of Burlington, Vt., and Lisa (Bob) of Middlebury, Vt.; by grandchildren Sara (Andrew), Elise, Nikki (Derek), Tommy and Lia (Max); by her three great-granddaughters, Raelynn, Charlie and Zora; by sister Jill and sister-in-law Bette; and by many loving and beloved in-laws, nephews, nieces, neighbors and friends.
At Sara’s request, a modest outdoor memorial service to celebrate Sara’s life will be held in the fall. Details will be made available by the Burchard family once arrangements have been made.
Donations in Sara’s memory may be made to any of the organizations and causes she supported during her life, including the Charlie Burchard Memorial Trust Fund, P.O. Box 638, Burlington, VT 05402-0638, a charitable trust fund established in 1988 by Sara and her family to remember her son, Charlie. The “Charlie Fund” supports charitable causes, primarily in Vermont, and continues the spirit of generosity and service that was so important to Sara.