Sarah Jane Dooley, of Atchison, Kansas, having composed her own obituary on her birthday in 2012, even choosing her date for her funeral, lived an extra thirteen years and passed peacefully on September 27, 2025, after a long, full life of 93 years.

Mass of Christian burial will be Wednesday, October 1, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Church with Rev. Jeremy Heppler, OSB as celebrant. Visitation with the family will begin at 10:00 a.m. Wednesday at the church followed by a rosary at 10:45 a.m. before the mass. She will be laid to rest next to her late husband at Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Memorials may be left to St. Benedict Parish or NEK Hospice in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home.

Sarah was born in Atchison, Kansas, on March 11, 1932, the daughter of the late Barry S. Davenport and Josephine (Steinweden) Davenport. She attended Terry #5 Grade School and graduated from Atchison High School. She worked at Ray's Market during high school and after graduation for Hallmark Cards in Kansas City. She married Joseph Patrick Dooley on June 17, 1950, at St. Joseph's Church and was blessed with her children and enjoyed many years as a homemaker and farmers wife while raising her family. She joined the dietary department at the Atchison Hospital in 1990, until her retirement in 1997.

She was a very independent woman that shared her strength and love of life with her family. She loved spending time with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was always very involved in her families' lives and leaves behind countless beautiful memories for her family to cherish forever.

She left a legacy of love and laughter with her surviving family, including her daughters, Connie James, Cindy (Ern) Beien, Jeannie (John) Asher; a sister, Shirley Swank; four grandchildren, Brian Knowles, Shawn (Sarah) Knowles, Sara (Kyle) Vandyke, Andrew (Shera) Asher; and nine great grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband; an infant son, Joseph P. Dooley, Jr.; and three sisters, Patricia Colstrom, Mary Jo Sittenauer, Bonnie Ayer.