SALEM - Sara Jean Gamble of Salem, died peacefully after a long illness on New Year's Eve at the Kaplan House in Danvers.

The daughter of the late Major Samuel W. and Anne Riley, Sara was an Honors Graduate from the University of Kentucky where she was the President of the Philosophy Club. She also received her PhD from Stanford University in Russian Studies. A published poet, Sara taught Russian Literature at Carleton College and did Marketing Research for the Pillsbury Company. She was later employed at the Daniel Low Company and Eastern Bank in Salem.

She was predeceased by her sister Linda E. Meyers and her brother Samuel W. Riley Jr.

Sara is survived by her former husband Giles Y. Gamble and her son Ian Arthur Gamble and his longtime companion Kerri Heinen of Stillwater, Minnesota as well as her dear friends Carole and Philip Moran and Ann Dickson of Salem, Dee Adams of Lynn, Kenneth Harmon of Proctersville, Vermont and Morgan Bryant of Phoenix, Arizona,

ARRANGEMENTS: A Memorial Service will take place this Spring. Assisting the family with the arrangements is The O'Donnell Funeral Home, 46 Washington Sq., (at Salem Common) Salem. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please visit www.odonnellfuneralservice.com .