Sarah Sterling Livingstone was born on a farm at Speyside, Halton County, Ontario, in July 1880, the eldest of ten children. Her paternal grandfather had immigrated to Canada from Mull, Scotland. She trained and graduated for her nursing degree at Guelph General Hospital, Guelph, Ontario.

In July 1916, at the age of 36, she joined the Canadian Army Medical Corp as a nursing sister, and that Christmas she was serving in Le Treport, France. She served in England and France, with the CAMC 2nd Canadian General Hospital, the CAMC Depot, the 11th Canadian General Hospital, the 16th Canadian General Hospital and the H.M.A.S. Essequibo.

During her service, in May 1917, she spent two months in England recuperating from a mild bout of diphtheria. Sarah was discharged in January 1920 due to demobilization.

Following her wartime service, Sarah worked as a professional nurse and companion, living with families who required a full-time nurse in their residence. She died at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto in May 1964, at the age 83. She never married.

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