Larkspur Conservation – Nashville, Tennessee

Obituary

Sarah Ruhlen passed away unexpectedly in Crossville, TN on August 3, 2022, from complications of Type 1 diabetes, an illness she never allowed to diminish her passion for living to the fullest or the joy she spread among her family and many friends. Her life embodied the credo she wrote for her Facebook pages: “Live profoundly. Refuse indifference. Inclusivity. Shake the dust.”

Sarah attended Tennessee High School, the Academy at King, and Western Carolina University. Even while in college, she was successfully combining her passions for kayaking, nature, and photography into what became a flourishing career in photography and videography. Her work was widely recognized, receiving support from such major boating companies as Dagger Kayaks. In an article titled “How Sarah Ruhlen Is Redefining Kayaking Videos,” Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine praised her video of women kayaking difficult whitewater as a celebration of women’s role in the sport. The video can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH4_qN6mcQQ and a sampling of her most striking work is available at https://www.sarahruhlencatalystmedia.com.

In addition to her photography, Sarah taught kayaking and canoeing at Nantahala Outdoor Center. The friends she made there and across the country in the boating community nurtured and sustained her over the years as she matured as a kayaker and as a person. Sarah dealt not only with Type 1 diabetes but also with dysautonomia, an illness that stops the body from correctly regulating anything controlled by the autonomic nervous system. She faced these daunting challenges always with courage and grace and without self?pity, never allowing them to define her life or stop her from pursuing her passions.

Sarah is survived by her parents, Terry Forrest and Richard Ruhlen of Bristol, TN; her grandmother, Betty Forrest of South Bend, IN; her aunts, Bonny Forrest (and husband Steve Armstrong) of San Diego, CA, Debbie Forrest of South Bend, IN, and Cathy Rice of Nashville, TN; and her cousins Karen Rickleman of Dallas, TX, and Brian Rice of Nashville, TN. At the time of her death, she was a manager and content creator with Plateau Creative in Crossville, TN, where she enjoyed her collaboration with its founder, Chad Christopher.

A celebration of her life will be held this fall in the Nantahala area. Details will be announced on her Facebook page and in this newspaper. Donations in her memory may be made to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of Tennessee at https://www.jdrf.org/tennessee. After clicking on the “Donate” link at the top of the landing page, select the “Memorial Donation” option.

“Her absence is like the sky, spread over everything.” C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed.