SARA COPELAND JEFFREYS GILLIAM
Sept. 2, 1923-July 16, 2017
Sara Copeland Jeffreys Gilliam, 93, of Martinsville, Va., passed away Sunday, July 16, 2017, at Kings Grant, Martinsville, Va. She was born in Goldsboro, N.C., on Sept. 2, 1923, to the late James Talbot Jeffreys and Elizabeth "Gay" Pugh Jeffreys.
She graduated from Goldsboro High School and Virginia State Teachers College, now Longwood University, with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry and a minor in mathematics. While at Longwood, she was an avid archer and a member of the Gamma Theta Sorority. After college, she taught high school in Staunton and Martinsville, Virginia before starting her family.
Sara was a loving wife and a caring mother to her daughters and granddaughters. She was a lifelong Episcopalian, serving on the Altar Guild and as a member of the Episcopal Church Women at Christ Episcopal Church in Martinsville. She enjoyed playing bridge and was an active member of the Martinsville Charity League, the Martinsville Garden Club, a Current Events Club and an Investment Club. She frequently volunteered to be the treasurer for many charitable organizations.
Sara was a good friend and an enthusiastic fan of Carolina basketball, and she loved peach ice cream.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Theophilus Field Gilliam; and four sisters, Virginia Pugh Jeffreys, Elizabeth Grey Jeffreys Hubard, Mary Ann Jeffreys Maxwell and Irene Jeffreys Cornwell.
Mrs. Gilliam is survived by her daughters, Sara Marshall Gilliam and Virginia Ruffin Gilliam Bacon of Richmond, Va.; brother, James Talbot Jeffreys Jr. of Goldsboro, N.C.; two grandchildren, Sara Bacon Sarrett and husband, Drew David Sarrett, of Richmond, Va., and Virginia Hastings Bacon Martin and husband, Carson Ray Martin, of Durham, N.C.; and numerous nieces and nephews.
There will be a graveside service at Oakwood Cemetery at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday July 22, 2017.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to Christ Episcopal Church, 311 East Church Street, Martinsville, Va., 24112.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 19, 2017 8:05 AM