Sarah Hart Mathis

1929 - 2025

Sarah Hart Mathis, 96, of Dacula, GA, (formerly of Marietta, GA) passed away Wednesday, December 17, 2025. A memorial service will be held Saturday, January 10, 2026, at 2:00 PM at Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church, 1450 Pine Rd, Dacula, GA 30019. The family invites you to join them for a brief reception with light refreshments at the church immediately following the service.

Mrs. Sarah Hart Mathis was born in Tallahassee, FL on February 8, 1929, where she lived until she graduated from Florida State College for Women with a degree in Art Education. In the early years of marriage, work led the family to Kansas, then to Georgia, then to California, and then finally back to Marietta, Georgia, where she resided through most of her adult life. Mrs. Mathis received her master's degree in education from Georgia State University, beginning her teaching career in the 1970s. By 1990, she'd retired from the Paulding County School System where she had continually served as a devoted teacher of many gifted students.

After retirement there were opportunities to travel to European and U.S. destinations, and Dr. and Mrs. Mathis hosted visitors from other countries, enjoying the exposure to other customs and cultures. She commissioned work from local artists to feature in her home and had a refined decorating sense that transformed both interior and exterior environments everywhere she lived. Mrs. Mathis always carried a deep love of nature and landscape gardening, so later in life she pursued and achieved Master Gardener status and supported what is now the Marietta Educational Garden Center, volunteering her time and design skills for many years. She was even given an 'unofficial' role in her condominium community, putting her in charge of design and maintenance of the property grounds, which she managed until moving to her final residence here in Gwinnett County's Arbor Terrace Hamilton Mill community. Once settling at Arbor Terrace in 2018, she continued expressing her love of art, history, and nature in her many hobbies, including reading biographies, card making, and floral arrangements. She also enjoyed playing bridge and good conversation.

Mrs. Sarah Mathis is survived by her sons, Steven Richardson of Dacula, GA and Dr. David Richardson (wife, Susan Richardson) of Lawrenceville, GA; her grandchildren Matthew Richardson, Sylvia Richardson Pellicore (husband, Joe), Aureen Richardson, and Shantel Richardson; her great-grandchildren Joshua, Korben, and Lucien Pellicore; her nephews Gordon Hart (wife, Karen), Arthur Hart, and Robert Hart (wife, Jennifer) and her stepdaughters Sara Kelly (husband, Bob), Katherine Shaw (husband, Bill), Jean Aswell (husband, Jim), and Anne Witcher (husband, Ben), as well as many loving friends and extended family members.

Sarah Hart Mathis (Sarah Elizabeth Hart) was the devoted wife of the late Dr. William H. Mathis. She was also preceded in death by her first husband, Charles E. Richardson, her parents Mr. Gordon Hart and Mrs. Ethel Lilly Hart, her brother Robert Hart and sister Caroline Hart.

The family of Mrs. Sarah Hart Mathis requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Memorial gifts can be made online at choa.org/tribute or mailed to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation, 1575 NE Expressway, Atlanta, Georgia 30329

Share memories of Sarah at hamiltonmillchapel.com

Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel 770-945-6924