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Sarah Jane McMurray was born in Manor, Saskatchewan on October 17, 1904 and moved to Nanaimo, BC at the age of six. She received her elementary and high school education at Nanaimo and her teacher training at Victoria Normal School. She taught school on Vancouver Island for six years at Royston, Tsolum and Sandwick. In 1929, she married Captain Albert E. Pugh, an employee of the CNR. They resided at Kelowna from 1931 to 1938, and moved to New Westminster in 1938 because of Albert's job transfer. Sarah was active for many years as Superintendent of the Sunday School at Queen's Avenue United Church in New Westminster. She moved to Whiterock in 1961. From 1962 to 1966, she was the head teacher of the Tillicum School in the Langley District.

Tillicum School was started in 1959 by the Langley Association for Mentally Retarded Children. Classes were held in the basement of the old St. Andrew's Anglican Church with 15 children enrolled. The Langley School Board assumed administration of Tillicum and built the three room school in 1962 which still stands by Langley Central. The school is the first in the district to provide special education programs and among the first of its kind in BC. Most years the school had a steady population of approximately 30 students. As of 2004, four multi-handicapped students share the building with Langley's Central's Kindergarden. Langley Special Needs pre-school leases the third classroom in the building.