Sarah D. Singletary, age 94, died Monday, January 25, 2021, at Highland House of Fayetteville. She lived most of her life in Lumberton, NC, but spent the last few years in Cumberland County. Sarah had memory loss that grew into dementia. She spent five years with Chris and Sophia after she became unable to live on her own. Her health declined after a fall in May 2020 that put her in the hospital with a broken tail bone. Sarah was born on December 1, 1926 in Raft Swamp, NC to Luther Clingman and Sophia Barker Davis, and was the last of their 10 children.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ralph H. Singletary; her infant daughter, Molly Ann; her brothers: Gordon, Claude, Lindsay, Luther, Ewin, George, and 2-year-old James; and her sisters: Ora Singletary and Margaret Hester.

Left to cherish her memory are her sons, Robert, known as "Bob", (Mary) of Hickory, NC and Ralph, Jr., most often called "Jack", (Alyce) of Parkton, NC; her daughters: Jeanette James (Frank) of Stedman, NC, Sophia Diorietes (Chris) of Eastover, NC, and Martha Ward who lives near Paris, France; her grandchildren: Anne Marie Smith and James Smith (Tina) of Florida, Kate D. Smith (Jamie) of Wade, NC, Katherine Anne Pacer (Philip) of Charlotte, NC, Ralph III, called "Buddy", of Durham, NC, and David Moore (Faith) of Pennsylvania; and her great-grandchildren: Zach Smith and Alex, Hailey, and Dylan Moore. Other grandchildren include Vicki James and Sharon Davinroy (Matt); along with her other great-grandchildren which include Amanda Lee (Robert), Corey Jeffries, and Daniel and Benjamin Davinroy; and her great-great-grandchildren: Robbie and Grace Lee. Left unnamed, but greatly loved, are a host of nieces and nephews.

Having endured the extremely lean years of The Great Depression followed by WWII, Sarah knew the value of hard work and the importance of resources. Before graduating from Bladenboro High in 1944, she was active in a scrap metal drive at the school. After she married and had children, not so much as a metal toothpaste tube went in the trash. She made clothes for the children out of chicken feed bags; but, each one had only one yard of fabric, so the patterns had to be matched and bags were traded with friends so she would have enough for a garment. The chickens? They provided eggs then Sarah killed and cooked them for Sunday dinner. She could make a mean dish of cornbread dressing with an old hen!

Sarah and Ralph had a garden every year that she tended from planting until the food was on the table. Ralph did the plowing, and Sarah and their children did most of the rest. After the youngest, Martha, started school, Sarah worked at sewing plants or drapery shops until she reached retirement. The children knew how to do what needed doing while she was at work. And she still wouldn't throw anything away. About ten years ago her niece Phyllis built a quilt out of fabric and scraps of fabric that Sarah had saved -- some of it from chicken feed bags from the 1950s.

Family was important. On Sunday mornings, the family was in church and Sunday afternoons meant a visit to the grandparents. And that was every Sunday that there was no snow on the ground. She wrote down names and relationships that she got from her mother and mother-in-law that helped a lot in tracing the family tree. She cooked Sunday dinner for her in-laws for a lot of years after her father-in-law had a paralyzing stroke. She did that then took it to them before going to church.

She was good to everyone and folks didn't hear an unkind word from her. (She is known to have said "heck" once.) So far as I know, the only public recognition she received was the DAR Good Citizen Award in high school. She was depended on to help look after whoever needed looking after. The neighborhood youngsters remember her cornbread that she let them have while she was cooking, but that was cut off when it was time to leave some for Daddy's supper.

After the young'uns were grown and gone and she retired, Sarah had some leisure time. For many years, she and Ralph, who was a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, faithfully attended and/or hosted meetings of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association - NC and SC Chapters, with a few trips to national meetings of the organization. After Ralph died, Sarah continued to go to the meetings because she and the ladies of the association had formed bonds that remained unbreakable even after having lost their husbands. Sarah loved to walk on the beach and pick up shells. She was always up for day trips, a week with family, or whatever came up. She loved to play Scrabble and wore down a couple of dictionaries and boards...because the players decided the rules. She loved to grow flowers. If the flower fell off any woody stem, she was ready to "stick it down" and root it. In fact, in her last years a couple of her falls were from trying to save the flower stems to take with her when she went home. There are still plants around that came from seeds rescued from bushes in public places and cuttings from her grandfather's house.

No services are planned at this time. However, if you feel the need to do something to honor her, please make a donation to your local hospice, your favorite charity, or help someone who needs a hand.

We extend a huge thanks to those friends and family who visited, called, brought or sent flowers, and/or sent cards and told her they loved her while she lived. Our family wants to offer a special thanks to Dick Taylor. He has been there for us for over sixty years and we love him. We want to thank the folks at Highland House, Community Home Care and Hospice, and Floyd Mortuary & Crematory, as well, for the care and help our family received as our mother made this final journey home.