Sarah Villar, 32, was a pediatric therapist who told a friend that helping children was her greatest accomplishment. Photo courtesy of Dave Villar.
Sarah Villar, 32, was a pediatric therapist who told a friend that helping children was her greatest accomplishment. Photo courtesy of Dave Villar.
Those who came to remember Sarah Villar gathered around the car in which her grandmother said a prayer. Photo by John Chadwell.
Those who came to remember Sarah Villar gathered around the car in which her grandmother said a prayer. Photo by John Chadwell.

For the second time in three days Sunnyslope Road was blocked off by police and fire vehicles between Beverly Drive and Cerra Vista Drive. On June 20 Sarah Villar and her fiance Tayler Schmitt were struck down by an alleged drunken driver. Sarah died at the scene and three days later friends, family and those who never knew her gathered to hold a vigil for her.

Nearly 50 people came together on a hillside overlooking the small memorial. Some brought flowers and other mementos as they huddled in small, subdued groups. A few who did not know her cried. Those who knew her, spoke in hushed tones of their memories of her as they stood by waiting.

Sarah’s father, Dave Villar, knelt at the memorial and prayed, then walked through the crowd greeting familiar faces, telling one of Sarah’s friends that his daughter considered working with children as a pediatric physical therapist her greatest achievement. A neighbor told the crowd that Sarah was helping them with their new baby.

Dave Villar knelt at his daughter's memorial and later told the crowd who came to the vigil that her Fathers' Day wish to him the morning she was killed will be a cherished memory. Her fiance, Tayler Schmitt, who was also struck by the car, stands at his side. Photo by John Chadwell.
Dave Villar knelt at his daughter’s memorial and later told the crowd who came to the vigil that her Fathers’ Day wish to him the morning she was killed will be a cherished memory. Her fiance, Tayler Schmitt, who was also struck by the car, stands at his side. Photo by John Chadwell.

“Tayler and Sarah were people my wife and I wish we could be,” he said as he broke down crying. “We just had a baby and she was talking about wanting to help our child. My wife said to me just two nights ago that they were supposed to get together because our child was having some issues. She was there for us.”

Sarah’s grandmother sat nearby in a car and the crowd gathered around her as she said a prayer through the open passenger window. A few moments later, Dave stood beside Tayler and told everyone of his daughter’s passion for caring for children.

“She died on Father’s Day,” he said. “Some might think that would make Father’s Day a terrible thing for me, but it won’t, because the first thing that morning she called me and wished me happy Father’s Day. That will make it special to me forever.”

Memorial services will be held at New Hope Community Church in Gilroy on July 3 at 10 a.m.

 

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John Chadwell works as a feature, news and investigative reporter for BenitoLink on a freelance basis. Chadwell first entered the U.S. Navy right out of high school in 1964, serving as a radioman aboard...