Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home

ROCKLAND – Sara S. Clough, 89, died peacefully, Sunday July 27, 2014 at Knox Center for Long Term Care in Rockland. Born in Friendship, September 25, 1924, she was the daughter of Samuel and Ilmi Ellison Syrjala. Sara was raised by her mother and step-father Alexsi Hill, after the death of her father when she was just two years old. Sara was the last to have been educated in the “Little Red School House” on Finntown Road. She then attended grade school in Friendship and graduated from Thomaston High School with the Class of 1942. She continued her education, graduating from Ballard Business School in Rockland in 1943. Sara was employed with Lincoln E. McRae Investments prior to her marriage to Fred N. Clough, Sr. Mr. Clough died on January 15, 1995. Sara was a member of the Finnish Congregational Church of South Thomaston since 1939, and a member of the Finnish American Society of Mid-coast Maine. A homemaker, Sara was a former member of the Golden Rod No. 8 Eastern Star of Rockland. Other than her parents, Sara was predeceased by her husband, Fred N. Sr., and siblings, A. Miriam Winchenbach and her husband Robert, Sulo Syrjala, Edwin Syrjala, Onni Ellison and Oiva Syrjala. She is survived by a daughter, Sandra Woodward and her husband Jon of Sedgwick; two sons, Fred N. Jr., and his wife Florence, Steven and his wife Denise all of Rockland; nine grandchildren, Jeffrey, Jason, Jennifer, Peter, Tobey, Rebekah, Aisha, Bethany, Holly; 14 great-grandchildren, Joshua, Jaxon, Emilee, Haylee, Sara, Emma, Mara, Layla, Ethan, Oliver, Ellie, Zoey, Ethan, and Carter; a special niece, Barbara Linscott and her husband Mahlon of Washington, and nephews, niece, and cousins. Visiting hours will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, July 31st at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland, where a funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Interment will follow at Achorn Cemetery, Rockland. The Reverend Terence Willis will officiate. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Finnish Congregational Church, P. O. Box 293, South Thomaston, ME 04858. To share a memory or story with Sara's family, please visit her Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.