Sarah Jayne Cromwell Wise died at home in Penn Township, on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, at age 93.
She was preceded in death by her parents, George O. Cromwell and Dorothy Badger Cromwell Daubenspeck.
Sarah was born in New Castle, on Sept. 13, 1929, and raised in Butler.
She graduated from Butler High School and the Pittsburgh Art Institute. She modeled for Joseph Horne Company, Kaufmann's and Gimbel's.
She was Miss Pittsburgh and Miss Western Pennsylvania in 1948. She was in the Top 10 of the Miss America Pageant that year, winning the swimsuit competition.
As an illustration of how much things changed over Sarah's lifetime, before the final evening of competition, Sarah was told she could not win Miss America due to her being the child of divorced parents. However, she was told she could keep the scholarship money and trophies she had earned. She was happy with that, since her primary reason for competing was to earn scholarship money to attend the Art Institute.
In 1953, she married Vernon L. Wise Jr. While he concluded his U.S. Army service that year, she won the title of Mrs. Schenectady, N.Y. Over the years, Sarah attended both the Hill Presbyterian Church and the Nixon Methodist Church.
She was a longtime member of the Butler County Humane Society. In 2010, the humane society dedicated its annual Fur Ball to Sarah and her daughter, Jamie Wise Lanier, for their support and inspiration.
Sarah was also a longtime member of the Town & Country Garden Club, the Butler Country Club and several bridge groups. She volunteered doing emergency room triage at the Butler Memorial Hospital.
Sarah had a lifelong love of her dogs and horses. For decades, she and her husband were among the organizers of the Butler Horse Show.
She was a longtime member of the American Saddlebred Horse Association and the United States Equine Federation. She showcased many wonderful horses in the American Saddlebred shows throughout the U.S., winning many blue ribbons and making many dear friends. She won her first World Championship in 2013, at the age of 84.
In 2014, the ASHA presented the Gillenwater Family Award to the Wise family for their years of involvement in the Saddlebred world. Sarah was proud of the fact that seven family members, across three generations, had shown Saddlebred horses.
In addition to her love of animals, she taught her children good manners and social graces, and how to swim and dive. When asked what three words most characterized Sarah, her daughter said, "Loyalty, Truthfulness and Forgiveness." Despite her commitment to truthfulness, Sarah insisted that she was perpetually 39 years old.
Sarah is survived by her husband, Vernon; daughter, Jamie Wise Lanier (Addison) of Cincinnati; son, Vernon L. "Chip" Wise III of Butler; six grandchildren, Vance M. Smith IV (Courtney), Evan Crawford Smith (Amanda), Bennett Vernon Smith (Kirsten), Sarah Jane Smith Meek (Brandon), Vernon L. "CJ" Wise IV and Jessica Lawson Wise; and by seven great-grandchildren.
Sarah's family is deeply grateful for the loving care and dedication of the those who have cared for her, in recent years: Milissa Rodgers, Sid Fesel, Kathy Finkbeiner, Renee Slupe, Jen Nulph, Karen Schwab, Tammy Hassler and Becky Schneltzer.
The funeral will be held at a future date for Sarah Jayne Cromwell Wise, who died Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022.
Arrangements are under the direction of THOMPSON-MILLER FUNERAL HOME, 124 E. North St., Butler.
Donations in Sarah's memory may be made to the Butler County Humane Society or Hill Presbyterian Church.
