Dr. Sarah Frances Anders

Dr. Sarah Frances Anders, age 90, of Pineville, Louisiana died June 8, 2017 at Regency House in Alexandria, Louisiana. A celebration of her life will be held on Thursday, June 15, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home, Pineville, with Dr. C. Stewart Holloway officiating. Burial will follow in Hasley Cemetery, West Monroe, at 2:30 p.m. with Dr. Rosanne Osborne officiating.

Former students and friends are invited to meet and share their memories of Dr. Anders during visitation at 10:00 a.m. at the funeral home.

Born in Monroe, Louisiana on January 5, 1927 to Malda Elliott Anders and Edward Eugene Anders, Sarah Frances lived in West Monroe until she left at age 16 to attend college at Louisiana Tech University. After graduating in two years she worked for the pastor of First Baptist Church, Marshall, Texas until she was old enough to enroll at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

After graduation from seminary, with a masters’ degree in Religious Education, she served on the staff of First Baptist Church, Quincy, Florida for seven years while completing two graduate degrees in sociology, a Masters and a PhD from Florida State University.

Highly respected for her academic excellence, Anders taught briefly at Florida State before accepting the position of chair of the Sociology Department at Mary Hardin-Baylor College in 1955. She joined the faculty of Louisiana College in 1962 as chair of the Sociology Department where she held the Walker Chair of Sociology, for a time served as Acting Academic Dean, and was name Professor Emeritus of Sociology upon her retirement in 1993. Degree programs in social work, criminal justice and family life studies were added to the Sociology Department during her tenure. Her academic career also included visiting professorships at Southern Methodist University, Vanderbilt University, Duke University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

She described herself as “a Christian woman who loves to teach”. She declined numerous offers to teach at the graduate level, remaining committed to undergraduate teaching because that is “where students make up their minds on so many important things”.

In addition to her academic career, Dr. Anders was involved in her community and was an active member of First Baptist Church, Pineville, where she served for years as a Sunday School teacher and as a deacon. She was particularly gratified by her work with Renaissance Home for Youth, where she was a founding board member and served as Board President, and with the Rapides Mental Health Association, which honored her with its Distinguished Service Award. She spent many rewarding hours as a volunteer chaplain at Rapides Regional Medical Center after her retirement from teaching. A lifelong Baptist, she held positions of leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Dr. Anders received many honors and awards including the Piper Professor Award for outstanding teaching by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation of Texas (1959). She was also recognized with a Christian Life Commission Award (1971); a Distinguished Service Award from Louisiana College (1977); as Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Alumna of the Year (1978); by the Hilda Simon Award, Region IV Conference of Social Welfare (1982); as Woman of the Year by Baylor University (1989); and was recipient of the T.B. Matson Ethics Award (1999).

She was a member of Phi Delta Phi, Alpha Kappa Delta, Alpha Chi, Omicron Delta Kappa and Alpha Lambda Delta academic fraternities and was a Certified Family Life Educator.

Sarah Frances Anders is survived by cousin, Sarah Taylor of Monroe, Louisiana, by Godchildren, Mary Ann Fernald of Quincy, Florida and Charles Fernald of Escondido, California, and by a host of former students, colleagues and friends that she considered family. She is remembered for her brilliant mind, her generosity, her wit, her style and the positive impact she had on the lives of those who encountered her.

Pallbearers honored to serve are Ray Doucet, Harry Ingalls, Mike Peevy, Chris Tudor, Dennis Watson and Jimmy Williamson.

In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be made to Baptist Women in Ministry (bwim.info), or to The Anders-Hedgepeth Scholarship Fund at Louisiana College or to the First Baptist Church Pineville Making Way Campaign.