Sarah Irene Beldin

The world lost a kind, loving, and vibrant soul on July 4, 2026. Sarah Irene (Blawat) Beldin passed away peacefully after courageously living with a rare form of cancer for four years. She was 48. Sarah was born on February 12, 1978 in Chico, California, to Maureen and Jerry Blawat. She was the couple’s only child together. From childhood, Sarah showed a powerful love for the outdoors and a deep sense of wonder for the natural world. Her family spent many summers camping near Silver Lake in Northern California where they went on long mountain hikes around the land where her dad and his family used to herd cattle. Sarah was raised in Chico and grew up in a tight-knit neighborhood on Hobart Street. Sarah attended Citrus Elementary, Chico Junior High, and Chico High School. At Chico High, Sarah was an academic and athletic all-star. She excelled at both soccer and track, earning multiple section titles, league championships, and all-league awards. She graduated in 1996 with many people who remained her lifelong friends. In Sarah’s words, it was amazing “how many beautiful souls I met so early in life and how we all cheered for and supported one another.” Sarah’s athleticism was evident from a young age. She did gymnastics as a girl and figured out how to ride a unicycle by her eighth birthday. But it was soccer that won her heart. Sarah was recruited to play collegiate soccer and ultimately chose to play at The University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. At UPS, she earned a degree in natural science with an emphasis in chemistry and a Spanish minor. She was once again a soccer all-star. She was named to the All-West Region 1st team in 1998 and 1999, to the All-West Region 3rd Team in 1997 and to the All-Conference 1st Team all four years. She was also awarded the Henrick Most Inspirational Award in 1999 and holds fifth place in the all-time goals-scored record books at UPS. It was on the soccer fields that Sarah met her beloved husband, Cort Beldin. Cort played on the men’s soccer team at UPS, and the two formed an instant connection at a post-season soccer party. Sarah caught Cort’s eye from across the room and the rest was written in the stars. The two dated for the remainder of college, including two independent semesters abroad: Cort to England and Sarah to Argentina. To know Cort and Sarah together was an opportunity to witness true love and partnership. Once Sarah graduated college in 2000, she and Cort embarked on a long-planned adventure to hike the Pacific Crest Trail. They spent two months hiking over 1,000 miles of the trail with their dog, Luna, and college friend, Mike. Cort and Sarah celebrated their marriage on September 15, 2001 at Wolf Creek Campground, near Glide, Oregon. For their honeymoon, they returned to the PCT to log another 100 miles of new trail. Sarah and Cort moved to Corvallis, Oregon in 2002 where they began to build their life and community. It was through their involvement in city soccer leagues, they established friends that would become family. On October 3, 2009, Sarah and Cort’s daughter, Tessa Clair Beldin, was born. Tessa seamlessly integrated into Cort and Sarah’s life of community soccer, traveling, and love for the natural world. Sarah and Cort enjoyed coaching Tessa’s youth soccer teams and loved the adventure they found in traveling to support their daughter and her team wherever they played. Sarah’s dedication to her family was unmatched and always unselfish. She loved being a mother with all her heart and was proud to see the amazing woman her daughter was becoming. One of Sarah’s favorite bumper stickers proclaimed, ‘Girls Love Dirt’, and from that motto she, quite literally, made a career. Sarah spent her professional life as an ecologist and soil scientist. Before she and Cort moved to Corvallis, she worked her first job out of college for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife which immersed her deep in the forest, counting fish and evaluating habitat. In 2004, Sarah earned a master’s degree in environmental soil science and completed a minor in water resources from Oregon State University in Corvallis. Sarah then joined the USDA Forest Service as a Biological Science Technician and, subsequently, the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center where she worked as an ecologist. She remained with USGS for the rest of her career where she advanced to become an integral member of a team that evaluated the research and development of scientists. She had a reputation for making processes more personal and her colleagues depended on her rare talent for bringing clarity to complex issues. Sarah was an avid gardener and spent many years developing a beautiful backyard garden where she expertly cultivated flowers and vegetables. Sarah was both a cat and a dog lover but had a special affinity for black labs as she and Cort had four devoted lab-mixes in their time together: Elwha, Luna, Rufus, and Juno. She was an admirer of nature and all things unique and rare. Most importantly, she had a remarkable ability to notice things that most of us miss. She could find four leaf clovers, unique rocks, huge agates and always noticed a little creature, insect, or bird. This magical gift has been passed onto her daughter, Tessa, who is a talented finder of special things in her own right. Sarah will be remembered as a devoted wife and mother, loving daughter, cherished friend, and valued co-worker. She will be remembered for her contagious laugh, her patience, her insight, and her wisdom. She was a positive life force who made a lasting impact on the people with whom she shared her life. We will continue to carry her joy for life in our hearts. Sarah is survived by her devoted husband, Cort, and daughter, Tessa of Corvallis, Oregon; her parents, Maureen and Jerry Blawat of Chico, California; half-sisters Kristen Ross of El Cerrito, California and Kelley Ross of Sun Valley, Nevada; nieces Amanda Ross of San Francisco, California and Sophia Ross of Sun Valley, Nevada; in-laws Grant and Marilyn Beldin of Corvallis; sister-in-law Brooke Beldin of Corvallis; brother-in-law Brandon Dale of Corvallis; niece Peyton Dale of Corvallis, and nephew Fletcher Dale of Corvallis; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, and lifelong friends and colleagues. A Celebration of Life is planned for August 30, 2026 in Corvallis at the Willamette Community Park Rotary Shelter Pavilion at 4:30pm (1350 SE Goodnight Ave.). In lieu of flowers, Sarah requested donations be made to South Corvallis Food Bank, a nonprofit organization at 1800 SW 3rd St. Ste 110, Corvallis, OR 97333, where she had recently been donating her time (https://www.southcorvallisfoodbank.org/).

Sarah Irene Beldin

February 12, 1978 - July 4, 2026