Sara is also survived by sisters, Sister Mary Michel Boulus, and Elizabeth Boulus; her double first cousins Tommy (spouse Lorraine) Williams and Mary Davis; and her 36 grandchildren, Kate, Maryclaire, Dan, John Richard, Anna, Eric, Marie, Michael, Elizabeth Ross, Michaela, Sara, Mark, Paul, Kristen, Philip, Alice, Mary, Isaac, Peter, Paula, Joseph, Annemarie, Anne, Matthew, Jeremy, Alex, Max, Aidan, Blaise, Mary Catherine, Jon Paul, Gabrielle, Christiana, Angelina, Tommaso and Luciano. 

A long-time Farmington Hills resident, the mother of 12, and active member of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Sara died peacefully on Thursday, March 1, of complications from liver cancer. She was 84 years old.

Sara was born on November 20, 1927, near Concord, NC, the middle child of five children of Mike and Lammie Boulus, Lebanese immigrants. Sara spent her early years in the Charlotte suburb supporting her parents’ various business ventures, including the Tip Top Café, in downtown Concord. 

In 1950, after completing business education at King’s Business College near Concord, Sara married Richard Abowd, an engineer she met through her older brother Paul, who attended the University of Notre Dame with him. Sara and Richard briefly lived in Ohio and Ann Arbor, while he completed his Master’s in Engineering at the University of Michigan. Their first child, John, was born in Ann Arbor in 1951. Eleven more children followed in the next sixteen years, after Richard and Sara moved to the Detroit area. 

In 1958, Sara moved to a home near 12 Mile Road and Middle Belt Road in what would become Farmington Hills. Sara lived in that home for 54 years, burying her beloved husband in 1998.

During her time in Farmington Hills, Sara became a prominent woman in several communities. Since 1958, she was a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Parish, serving eight different pastors and sending all 12 children to the parish school. She was the longest active member of the parish Altar Society, also served a dozen years as the parish secretary, and spent 17 years as the administrative assistant at the parish school. 

In addition, Sara was the mother to the most graduates at the University of Notre Dame in the University’s history, having nine of her 12 children graduate from that university. 

Regardless of the weather, Sara attended daily mass at 8 am every morning. She was a faithful servant of the Lord who performed her parish duties with a smile and endless energy her entire life. She loved to be surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Every Sunday, she prepared dinner for any and all family members which included many delicious Lebanese dishes. 

Family gatherings commonly found Sitti—Lebanese for “Grandma.”—engaged in pinochle, bowling, Wii bowling, watching basketball or playing basketball, enjoying a movie, or doling out treats, such as, popcorn and apples, in her generous grandmotherly style. Weekday visits found her company gathering in her living room to watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. She loved to be outdoors enjoying her large yard, bountiful vegetable garden, raspberry patch, and flower garden. During many summers, Sara often filled her kitchen with the aroma of raspberry jam, offering late night samples on her homemade bread. She was the cornerstone of her large family, always welcoming them into her home and her heart. 

Her funeral mass will be celebrated Monday, March 5, 10:30 am (in state 9:30 am) at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Burial at Holy Sepulchre, Southfield, will follow mass. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Sara’s name to Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church Funeral Ministries, 23815 Power Road, Farmington, MI, 48336.

Arrangements by Heeney-Sundquist Funeral Home.