Memorial Service for Sanders at Bonebrake Center
The Bonebrake Center of Nature and History will host a Celebration of Life for former Executive Director Libby Sanders on May 1, from 1 – 3 p.m., for any who may want to attend. Sanders held the position from 1999 until the time of her death, on December 20, 2020. The date of the memorial service for the long-time educator appropriately coincides with the nationally recognized Mother Goose Day.
Sanders was an integral part of her community, through education, government, and arts.
For over four decades Sanders taught students, young and old, through her work at Southwest Baptist University-Salem as an adjunct faculty member from 1989-2014, as an educator at Salem R-80 schools, as a First Steps instructor and for over 30 years, coordinating events and programs at Bonebrake Center of Nature and History.
Elected in April 1978, she was the youngest and first alderwoman in Salem.
Sanders has been a member of the Salem Area Arts Council, member of the Association of Missouri Interpreters, member of the Local Interagency Coordinating Council for First Steps, co-chair of the Regional Interagency Coordinating Council for Region 9 of First Steps and alternate for the State Interagency Coordinating Council. In addition, she was an active member of Salem United Methodist Church.
Always a pioneer of educational projects in the community, her dedication and volunteer hours are immeasurable.
The family has established an email to which those whose lives she touched can send pictures and stories, MotherGooseCelebration@gmail.com. Some may be used at the ceremony and some may be kept for family use, but any and all are greatly appreciated.
