On April 27 the community lost someone who helped put some heart into Centerville.

Sarah Gavronsky died at the age of 87, but she was one person who never let the number of years she’d lived get in her way. Even after she began living at Mercy Medical Center’s Long Term Care Unit, she remained active in getting things done. She was instrumental in getting a fundraiser started for the aviary at the Long Term Care Unit. She was always a person who could see a need and find a way to take care of it.

In a story published in the Daily Iowegian a couple of years ago, she spoke matter-of-factly and straight about what she had done and the things the community should care about. Like low income housing. At one time, it didn’t exist in Centerville.

“There was a group of folks who saw the needs of people with no place to go, so they started doing something about it. I kind of dragged some of those people along with me to get this done,” Gavronsky said.

She gathered businessmen and others and they bought the property for Oaklawn from Dr. Larson and his wife, Fairy Mae.

“We had an architect come in and design the building. We accomplished all this by getting grants through HUD. First the Oaklawn high rise was built by the Municipal Housing Authority and then Shamrock followed, which was owned by the Chamber of Commerce, althought the housing authority was instrumental in assisting with the project,” she said.

“The Municipal Housing Authority has 100 low-income places to live in now, counting some separate houses throughout Centerville. Pleasant View is also through the housing agency but it came through a separate grant. As soon as Oaklawn opened with 50 apartments, we had 50 tenants move in.”

In 2006, Gavronsky was 85 and said she had just recently resigned her position with the Municipal Housing Authority. She added she was still active in a lot of things.

“I’m not done yet,” she smiled, noting she was getting her house ready for an auction. “I’ll be living here from now on. I broke my hip tripping on a rug and have no one to live with. I’m the only Jew left in town beside my two grandsons. We used to have a synagogue with beautiful stained glass windows. And a rabbi used to come for high holidays. All that’s no longer.”

Gavronsky was active in the hospital’s auxiliary and helped start the annual Christmas Bazaar.

“It became a tradition and the biggest fundraiser for the auxiliary,” she said.

She was also on the committee that worked on getting group homes started.

“Lorraine Ramos and I were co-stars on a lot of projects,” said Gavronsky. “She helped me plan the housing agency and, in fact, she’s been on every committee I have. We were involved with the start of the rec center, too.”

She was an active member of the Outlook Club, a club she said was “mostly social and a good many years old,” and was active in Appanoose Country Club events.

Gavronsky thought volunteering in her community was important and she tried to motivate others to do so.