August 5, 2015

Sarah Yarrin

Sarah Yarrin, whose maiden name was Phillips, was born and raised in Tyler, Texas, the second of four daughters. Her father, Hyman Phillips, came from Poland as a young man, landing in Galveston, where a rabbi helped him find a room, and he sold newspapers before later serving as an Army cook based in San Antonio. Her mother came from Poland at about age 16 and learned English with the help of a tutor; her large family, the Rosh family, had settled in Tyler. Raised in the conservative synagogue, Sarah recalled a warm childhood in what was then the heart of East Texas, with Jewish families from surrounding small towns gathering for festivals. She graduated from Tyler High at 16, attended the University of Colorado, Tyler Junior College, and the University of Texas, and was active in Young Judea and campus service organizations.

Sarah met Marvin Yarrin through his sister, a sorority sister of hers, while visiting Dallas. Though she initially resisted, the two married in the temple in Tyler and moved to Dallas in November 1946. They lived first in a furnished apartment off Cole Avenue, then bought a series of homes near Love Field, on Walnut Hill Lane, and in Preston Haven, later moving to a condominium and finally the home where she was interviewed. Within about five years they had three daughters, Ellen, Holly, and Jackie, all of whom went through religious school and later BBG. Marvin worked in business with his father, who had been transferred to Dallas from New York, and later became a real estate salesman and broker.

After the couple finished educating their daughters, Sarah returned to school at Texas Woman's University in Denton, earning a degree in early child development, having earlier studied political science with a onetime dream of becoming an attorney. Instead she joined Marvin in real estate, founding the Yarrin Group, and took over its operations when he suffered a heart attack in 1976. A defining chapter began in 1985 when the couple traveled to Israel with the temple choir; Sarah joined the choir, and under Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman she and Marvin took part in the original Hebrew and Torah study classes. After retiring in 1987 and after Marvin's death in 1996, Temple Emanu-El became a true community and second home for her. A woman of deep faith, she treasured family above all and believed in looking forward while never forgetting the past.

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