Mrs Sarah Philena Pritchard, née Shaver, was born in Chatham, Columbia, New York, USA on 14 November 1864. She was the daughter of Edgar Shaver, a carriage manufacturer, and Susannah Richmond, both natives of New York. She had an elder brother, George.

As a young girl Sarah and her family relocated from Chatham to Pittsfield, Massachusetts; she was married there in January 1883 to bank bookkeeper (later president) William H. Pritchard and they had two children, Herbert and Margaret. 

In April 1912, Mr and Mrs Pritchard, accompanied by Mr and Mrs Carlton T. Phelps, were first cabin passengers aboard the Carpathia en route to Europe for a vacation. Once the survivors of the Titanic had been rescued, the party showed them many kindnesses, including giving up their staterooms and sharing clothing and other essentials. 

With their experiences not deterring them, the Pritchard and Phelps couples continued their journey aboard Carpathia, returning to the US towards the close of June but refusing to be further drawn to comment on the Titanic disaster. 

In later years Mrs Pritchard and her husband made their home in Stamford, Vermont but in the mid-1930s relocated to the home of their son Herbert and his family who lived in Wollaston, Quincy, Massachusetts.

Although in indifferent health for a number of years, Sarah Philena Pritchard died suddenly at the home of her son in Wollaston on 8 May 1936. She was cremated and her remains were interred in Bennington, Vermont.