The sad passing of former estate agent and industry trainer Sarah Edmundson was announced yesterday following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Edmundson had held several roles across the property sector at Fine & Country, the Guild of Property Professionals, Boomin, and more recently as CEO of estate agency charity Agents Together.
The 38-year-old had battled cancer for several years and appeared at The ESTAS Awards via video link last week as part of her fundraising and awareness efforts.
The announcement came from Agents Together who published the following message:
“It is with unbearable sadness that we have to share the heartbreaking news of the untimely passing of our beautiful friend and colleague, Sarah Edmundson.
“Sarah was truly one of a kind, and in every aspect of her life and work she thought first of others before herself.
“Through her leadership of Agents Together, she was instrumental in arranging hundreds of mentorships, providing tens of thousands of hours of coaching and support to help countless agents and suppliers across our sector. And through her pivotal role as a committee member for Women in Estate Agency she was a tireless advocate for equality, empowering women and being the voice for change.
“But beyond those big public actions it was the daily acts of kindness we each saw and felt from Sarah which showed who she really was.
“In true Sarah style at this year’s WiEA conference the first thing she did on stage was to ask the photographer to take a picture of, in her words, “you amazing people”, the audience, for her mum.
“Through everything that she faced, Sarah never stopped shining the light (and in this case the camera) first on those around her, before it even crossed her mind to shine it on herself.
“In recent months alongside her dear friend Jeremy Langmead, she launched a brave, raw and honest podcast entitled “how long have you got?” The podcast tackled important and difficult topics for those touched by cancer and received critical acclaim with features in many media outlets including The Times. Cancer didn’t define Sarah; she made sure of that in the most inspiring way, battling the cruel disease courageously while living life to the full.
“We have lost a true friend who was beautiful, fearless and funny in everything she did.
“Sarah never stopped championing WiEA and never stopped being there for all of us right to her final days. Just last Friday Sarah joined the WiEA table at The ESTAS Awards live on Facetime so she could be with us all to cheer on the WiEA award winners and to see us raising more than £6,000 for her chosen charity, Breast Cancer Now. And it is just a year since Sarah herself was recognised with an ESTAS Lifetime Achievement Award.
“If we are certain of anything, it is that we will not let Sarah’s memory fade. Although we will never possibly fill her shoes we will, together as Women in Estate Agency, keep her legacy alive in everything we do, and keep fighting for those who are also facing the battle Sarah fought through our ongoing support for Breast Cancer Now.
“Sarah’s mum, Jacki, is especially in our thoughts, as are all Sarah’s many, many friends and the thousands of people whose lives Sarah made so much better for her being in the world.
“Finally, it feels fitting to let Sarah speak for herself, in the words she used as she stood on the WiEA stage in March. Sarah had come straight from her chemo treatment to the conference in London, showing up like the warrior she was to be there for others, and to light up the room with her beauty, brilliance and humour:
“What I need to say is one thing personally. It was a bit of a mission for me to get here today, and if you take anything away from today it would be that if you surround yourself with the very, very best people literally anything is possible. I needed a lot of help and support to actually be standing here. That’s what happens when you surround yourself with the best people – you end up looking like you’ve got your **** together.”
“Sarah, you will be forever missed but never ever forgotten. Your light will continue to shine, and your brilliance will never fade.”
The team at EYE joins WiEA in sending condolences to Sarah Edmundson’s mum, Jacki, as well as family, friends and colleagues.
When life is profoundly cruel and unfair—as it is right now and far too often is—it’s a sad time for us all, take from it a powerful lesson. Strive to be inspired by Sarah’s warmth, courage, and dignity. Being genuine and nice came naturally to her, and though it will be much harder for the rest of us, we need to keep her smile alive. Remember her, and be more like Sarah.
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How very sad. Didn’t know her but sounds a lovely person.
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So many genuine and lovely people in property, that venomous attacks on the sector simply do not warrant. RIP Sarah
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I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah twice at the WiEA conferences. She was an absolute force to be reckoned with and will forever hold a place in the hearts of all of us women in estate agency
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I met Sarah a couple of times in various roles.
She was a passionate highly driven individual and was always a pleasure to be in her company.
Such a loss and another young person gone -so sad
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I met Sarah some years ago when she organised a special training day for my estate agency. Her company was introduced by a friend in the industry and it’s fair to say that it was the best days training we ever had. Fun and smiley but with the emphasis on professionalism Sarah was able to infuse the whole audience by making them think more about what they were trying to achieve and how best to achieve it. I seldom comment on threads but felt an overwhelming need to express my heart felt condolences to Sarahs family and friends for the loss of such a lovely lady. Clive Bryant and all at Chapplins.
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