On the afternoon of April 14, 2023

Star Lais Sawyer left this earth peacefully at home. She was surrounded by her family and close friends. The day was warm and her beloved weeping cherry tree bloomed in her backyard. 

Star was a California girl born on November 13, 1974 to Pat and Rich Sawyer and was raised in Los Angeles. Pat worked as a music video producer and Rich worked in printing. They lived in Hollywood. Star attended the 32nd Street USC Magnet School for the Performing Arts in downtown LA. She went to the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts for music. She was a lifelong pianist and excelled at music theory. Star moved to Venice Beach with her mother and finished high school at Santa Monica High School. 

Star studied music at the University of California Santa Cruz and ultimately graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Education. 

After graduation, Star worked as a teacher in a private Manhattan elementary school. She then followed in the footsteps of her mother, starting as a production assistant and worked her way up to being a producer, like her mom, in the entertainment industry. 

Star met her husband, Chris Potter, while working in the production office for a television show based in NYC. 

Star and Chris realized that they were soul mates on a green bench outside of the mecca of their social circle, a restaurant called Diner, on the south side of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Star and Chris married in 2008. They had their first child, Sadie in 2011 and then welcomed Emmet in 2013. 

Star’s mother Pat Sawyer died in April 2013 after suffering a brain aneurysm. Their mother-daughter connection was incredibly close and Pat’s loss was deeply felt for the rest of Star’s life. 

A lover of learning, Star shifted her career to the meaningful work of listening and supporting people in need. She achieved a Master of Social Work from NYU and then became credentialed as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. 

Star worked as a social worker for Good Shepherd in service of the under-resourced families of Red Hook for many years before opening her own private psychotherapy practice with office spaces in Brooklyn and Manhattan. 

As a mother of two young children, Star was a devoted parent in the PS110 community where both kids went to elementary school. Star delighted in taking Sadie and Emmet to McGolrick Park for countless hours of play and hangtime with other parents. Sadie moved on to attend Garden School after graduating PS110.

Star was a loyal friend, an avid reader, a lover of travel, a triple scorpio with an in-depth skincare routine. She loved yoga, healthy food, the ocean, ridiculously silly greeting cards and anyone who was authentic as she was and could make her laugh. She loved Hawaii and visiting Montana with Chris’ family. She learned from her mother Pat how to be a great mother herself and how to live life to its fullest. Her children were her greatest joy and treasure. Her brilliant green eyes and smile were as stellar as her name.

Star was a beloved wife to Chris Potter, a fierce and loving mother to Sadie and Emmet, and a caring daughter to Rich.