Sarah Welton

May 01, 1952 - February 25, 2026 Dr. Sarah Welton was born on May 1st, 1952, in Batavia, New York. The only daughter of Rev. Dr. Robert G. and Ruth Ann Withers, she spent her childhood in various locations as part of a pastor’s family, spending most of her youth in Utica, NY, where she graduated from Utica Free Academy in 1969. She attended Linfield College in McMinnville, OR, graduating cum laude with her B.A. in psychology in 1974. In 1983, she and her family moved to Alaska, first to Anchorage, and then to the Knik area. After her divorce, she met Gerald Rexrode and they bought a home together in Wasilla. Sarah received her master’s degree from Alaska Pacific University in 1998 and her Ph.D. from Northcentral University in 2014. Dr. Welton taught as an adjunct for many years at Mat-Su College and ran her private practice of Alpha Counseling in Wasilla. She served on the Mat-Su School Board for eighteen years and was an advocate for public education. She was an active member of Church of the Covenant in Palmer since 1987 and installed as pastor in 2009. Sarah loved to sew and made clothes and crafted quilts. She also crocheted and loved to bake. She was an avid reader and even after her terminal diagnosis insisted on joining four book clubs. She was preceded in death by her parents and by her significant other of 26 years, Gerald Rexrode in 2020. She is survived by her companion Jeremy Acota; children Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell and her husband Rev. J.C. Mitchell; son Travis Welton and his wife Kelly; her three grandchildren: A.J. Mitchell, Seamus Welton and Raleigh Welton. She is also survived by her brothers: Richard Withers and his wife Bonnie; Ken Withers and his husband Harry Henry; Gordon Withers and his wife Cathy; Stephen Withers and his wife Genina; stepmother Barbara Rowe and her husband Bob Wilson; and other extended family and many friends. A Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, March 29th, at 2 p.m. at the Palmer Train Depot, 610 S. Valley Way, Palmer, Alaska. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Church of the Covenant (Palmer, Alaska) or the Wasilla Public Library.