Sarah Lanford Yancey Thomas

THOMAS, Sarah Lanford Yancey, 92, of Arvonia, died February 26, 2009 in Gainesville, Fla. She was born April 4, 1916 at River's Edge Farm, Palmyra, to the late Oscar Russell Lanford and Eva Maude Terrell. She was preceded in death by her first husband, Thomas Aubrey Yancey Sr.; her second husband, Overton Snead Thomas; and her brothers, Jack Lanford and Allen Archer Lanford. Sarah attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Mary Washington College. She was a member of Bethel Baptist Church. Sarah was an accomplished musician and piano teacher. She was a founding member and past president of the Buckingham County Women's Club and a member of the Fork Union-Point of Fork Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She retired from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation after twenty years of service as a tour hostess at Monticello. She is survived by two sons, Thomas Aubrey Yancey Jr. and his wife, Dayne, of Frazier Park, Calif., and William Allen Yancey and his wife, Carolyn, of Duck, N.C.; one daughter, Evalyn Yancey Lipoff and her husband, Scott, of Gainesville, Fla.; six grandchildren, Holly Stout, Colleen Stidham, Michael Yancey, Lauren Yancey, Russell Lipoff and Jack Lipoff; six great-grandchildren, William Stout, Turner Stout, Laura Stidham, Taylor Stidham, Isabella Yancey and Aiden Yancey; along with eight nieces and nephews. A memorial service and celebration of Sarah's life will be held at Bethel Baptist Church, Palmyra, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Bethel Baptist Church or the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, P.O. Box 217, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902. Arrangements are under the care of Williams-Thomas Westarea Funeral Home, 823 NW 143rd St., Gainesville/Newberry, Fla., (352) 376-7556.
This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.