Sara "Sally" Ann (Ashman) Cifrese

Sara “Sally” Ashman Cifrese, passed away peacefully on December 24 2024. She was at home with her husband Rocco and three of her four children. She had battled recurrent breast cancer since March of this year.

Sara “Sally”Ann Dibert Ashman was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Wilbur McClintock Ashman and Sara Suppes Ashman on November 3, 1942. She was a tomboy; climbing trees, exploring nearby woodlands and streams, catching crayfish and salamanders. In the winter she enjoyed sledding with her brothers, Jeff and Tom and her faithful dog, Friskie. The family constructed a clay tennis court in the backyard where they played tennis until dark and then went inside and played Bridge.

Sally attended the Tioga Street School and Westmont High School in Johnstown, and the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She was admitted to the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown after three years of high school and was admitted to The Hahnemann University Medical School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after three years of college. Thus she received her only degree, a Medical Degree, in 1967.

She met and married her classmate, Rocco Cifrese, they started their family with their firstborn, Scott, while in medical school. They graduated in June of 1967. Together they served a rotating internship at Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where her father was the hospital administrator.

In 1968 they moved to Lawton, Oklahoma, where Rocco was commissioned in the USPHS division of Indian Health at the Lawton Indian Hospital. Their second child, Sally, was born at the Fort Sill Hospital, in Lawton. In 1970 the family moved to Ashton, Idaho, and practiced small town medicine. Their daughter, Jill, was born at this time.

In 1972 the family moved to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where Sally and Rocco opened their family practice. Here their son, Matthew, was born, rounding out their family. At age 101 Sally's mother came to live with them. In June of 2024 she fell breaking her hip and soon after passed away at the age of 111. She felt very privileged to care for her mother for ten years.

Sally loved family, the practice of medicine, traveling, and gardening. She had a lovely voice and enjoyed singing in her church choir. She possessed a wonderful sense of humor, always wore a smile, and never uttered an unkind word to anyone. She was deeply loved and will be forever missed.

A celebration of life will be held in the Summer of 2025.

In lieu of flowers please donate to your favorite charity.