Portrait of Sara

A rare portrait of Sara who much preferred to be behind the camera.

 

It is with great sadness that we share the news that one of our long standing staff members, Sara Penwarden, has passed away aged only 51. Unfortunately she lost a battle with cancer on May 31st, with her husband Michael and her Papillion dog Alfie by her side.

Sara was a passionate and knowledgeable photographer, wildlife & animal lover and environmentalist, to name just a small selection of her positive attributes. On top of this, she was an incredibly dedicated employee of Wilkinson Cameras for over 22 years, always putting her customers first and thinking of what was best for the company. In fact, that was Sara all over - completely selfless in every respect.

In her 22 years with Wilkinson Cameras, she managed the Blackburn store, the Southport store and more recently she joined the team at Head Office to manage B2B & Online sales. Many will know her from these roles or will have met her on a workshop or at an event.

Sara was a fountain of knowledge and a passionate photographer. She was also somewhat of a camera equipment collector, from her collection of old film cameras, through to her treasured Canon L lenses & EOS 5D Mark IV, a vintage Gitzo tripod and about 200 camera bags (we jest, it's probably more like 25!) to name just a few.

Sara's knowledge was broad and stemmed from a passion for delivering great customer service and her love of photography. Her passion did not stop at photography though. She was also a nature and animal lover and dedicated conservationist and environmentalist.

Her outstanding customer service was recognised not only internally, but also by the number of positive reviews that came her way and demonstrated by her extremely loyal following of customers who would come back to her time and time again over the years for advice.

This level of service, thoughtfulness and attention to detail was drilled into anyone she managed or mentored and as a company we are extremely grateful for the values she has maintained, enhanced and woven through our procedures at many levels.

Anyone who knew Sara will also know that she also had an incredible sense of humour. We will certainly miss the belly laughs at Head Office.

Sara's husband Michael said, "If there is one lesson that you can take away from knowing Sara, it would be that we take a moment to care for people and animals and the world we live in just a little bit more. This is what Sara would have wanted. Please don't be sad that Sara has passed away, but be glad to know that you knew a wonderful person."

We have lost an incredible person; someone compassionate, tenacious, generous and loyal, but we are so lucky to have had the chance to know, work with and love someone so brilliant and so unique. Sara will not be forgotten at Wilkinson Cameras.

 

Michael, Sara's husband has requested that any donations are made to Trinity Hospice, where Sara received excellent care. If you would like to donate, please click the Trinity Hospice image below to be taken to the GoFundMe page we have set up in Sara's name. All donations will go directly to Trinity Hospice and you can donate using PayPal or credit card. Thank you.

 

From all of us at Wilkinson Cameras including company directors David Parkinson, Frank Wilkinson, Paul Edmondson & Alex Wilkinson, we wish Michael and the rest of Sara's family and friends our deepest condolences.