Sara M. Allen, 95

GILFORD — Sara Macfarlane Allen, 95, died peacefully at her home on Jan. 3, 2026, surrounded by her family. Bighearted, open-minded and endlessly curious, even in the final years of her life, Sara's capacity for grace, trust, and love in the most difficult times has been a blessing and inspiration to her family and community.

Born in Rockford, Illinois, on April 11, 1930, to Noble Thomson Macfarlane and Helen Brantingham Macfarlane, she joined a beloved older brother, Noble “Mac.” An adventurous child, “Sally” spent her early years in Rockford and Winnetka, and many summers at Camp Sherwood Forest in Minnesota, sailing and riding horseback. Her teens brought a move to Virginia when her parents opened the Old Ivy Inn near Charlottesville.

After graduating from St. Anne's Episcopal Girls School in 1948, Sara studied political science at Vassar College and discovered a deep love of travel with a memorable year in Switzerland. Upon graduation in 1952, she worked for the National Security Agency as a research analyst in Washington, D.C., and soon met a dashing Naval aviator in training, James “Jim” Phillips Pilliod, through her best childhood friend, Caroline. Sara and Jim married on Feb. 6, 1954.

Sara and Jim started their family in the years Jim was in training to become a pediatrician. Becoming a mother was her joy and focus in those years. In 1964, they chose to settle in Gilford, where their family embraced all that life in New Hampshire has to offer — skiing and hiking with the Gilford Outing Club, sailing at the Winnipesaukee Yacht Club, and swimming at Gilford Beach.

Committed to helping families thrive, Sara spearheaded the founding of the first day care center in the state in 1967, and continued to be actively involved with the Lakes Region Day Care Center for many years. After her divorce, Sara turned to building her professional life, completing a master's in education counseling at the University of New Hampshire and becoming a much-loved counselor at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts for a decade, before returning to Gilford full-time in 1987.

A spiritual person, Sara found a faith community everywhere she lived. She was a devoted member of the Gilford Community Church, eventually becoming the assistant to the pastor, after receiving a degree from the New York Theological Seminary. She officiated many weddings, baptisms, and funerals through the years and brought comfort to the ill and infirm.

Sara got a second chance at love later in life when her friendship with T. Gary Allen, the widower of her dear friend Lucile, grew deeper. Sara and Gary married in 1996, enjoying their extended families and square dancing, singing in the choir, skiing, and traveling together until Gary’s death in 2007. A lover of dogs, Sara later enjoyed many years with her beloved black lab, Piper.

Her spirit of adventure led to extensive travel in the U.S. and around the world. A favorite family memory is an epic road trip with the five children in her VW camper in 1972, visiting friends and family throughout the country. Abroad, Sara visited almost every continent over the years, finishing up with a trip to the Galapagos to celebrate her 80th birthday with her childhood friend, Ellanor.

Sara was predeceased by her stepson, Phillip Allen, and step-daughter-in-law, Patricia Gilbert Allen. Her survivors include her children and their spouses: Sharon and Timothy Grant, Linda Pilliod and Michael Foote, Mary and Dale Curtis, Jay Pilliod and Dara Torre, and David Pilliod and Elena Velasquez. She is also survived by step-daughter-in-law Cheryl Gilbert Allen, and stepchildren Francie Allen, Tom Allen, Chris Allen and Anne Knudsen, and Barbara Allen; grandchildren Cameron Grant and Manige Blackburn Giles, Kayleigh Grant and Karen Johnson, Sara Ellen Godek, Charles and Emily Curtis, James Curtis, Lucile and Shaun LaPlante, Emily Curtis, Kathryn Pilliod, and Matthew Pilliod; step-grandchildren Elizabeth and David Elwell, Joshua and Lesley Allen, Garrett Allen, Marguerite and Kris Gallagher, Lea Allen, Steffan Allen, Nicolas Tipp, T. Garrett Lewis, and Lucy Lewis; and eight great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson.

The family is planning a celebration of life in early summer.

Should you wish to make a donation in Sara’s memory, the family suggests Gilford Community Church, 19 Potter Hill Road, Gilford, NH 03249, or Lakes Region VNA & Hospice, 186 Waukewan St. #6023, Meredith, NH 03253. The loving hands and hearts of the hospice team were invaluable in caring for Sara at home.

Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services/603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant St., Laconia, is assisting the family with arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial, visit wilkinsonbeane.com.