Ann Carol Durham

Ann Carol Sanders Durham, age 84, passed away on January 21, 2026 at UNC Rex Healthcare in Raleigh, NC, surrounded by her loving family. A memorial service will be held at First Baptist Church Four Oaks on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at 12:00PM. A visitation will be held from 10:00AM-11:45AM in the church fellowship hall. Revs. Joshua Turpin and John Norman will officiate. The family will also receive visitors at the home at other times.

Ann was born on March 10, 1941 to Rufus William Sanders, Sr., and Vidah Wood Sanders of the Strickland’s Crossroads Community in Johnston County. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband, Jerry Dennis Durham, Sr., and brothers, William “Billy Wood” Sanders, and Rufus William Sanders, Jr. She was a 1959 graduate of Four Oaks High School, and later attended Meredith College, where she graduated in December 1962, with a degree in elementary education. Ann married Jerry Dennis Durham, Sr. of Four Oaks on June 16, 1963. She was a lifelong educator, teaching 6th grade for 3 years at Clayton Elementary School, and 3rd grade for 3 years at Four Oaks Elementary School, followed by 1st grade for the remainder of her 30 years teaching at Four Oaks where she touched the lives of many young people. As a teacher, she was also able to aid Jerry during the busy summers on the family farm where they not only raised corn, tobacco, cotton, and livestock, but also a family, as well as employing a good number of Four Oaks youth on the farm throughout the years. She was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and mentor to the many people that shared her life. She opened her heart and her home to many individuals over the years. Ann was a long-standing member of First Baptist Church Four Oaks where she served as deacon, Sunday School teacher, WMU member, recording treasurer, and loyal choir member, among other positions. Ann loved spending time outdoors whether it was in her yard and garden, drinking coffee on her back porch, spending time with her grandkids, at a ballgame, or walking on the beach with her sister. She was an avid bridge player and loved playing Yahtzee and Bananagrams.

She is survived by her sons, Jerry Dennis Durham, Jr, and wife Melanie Edwards Durham, and James Keith Durham II and wife Lisa Hudson Durham; daughter-in-law, Heather Ludwig Durham; grandchildren, Carlye Hunter Durham, Steven Edwards Durham, Jackson Dennis Durham, Lanie Carol Durham, Emma Catherine Blackman, and Clayton Samuel Blackman; sister, Laura Beth Barbour; sister-in-law, Linda Baker Sanders; and many loving cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The family would like to extend a special thank you to the staff of UNC Rex Neuroscience Intensive Care unit for her compassionate care over Ann’s final days.

Instead of flowers, memorial donations can be made to First Baptist Church Four Oaks Preschool, PO Box 717, Four Oaks, NC, 27524.

Arrangements by Rose & Graham Funeral Home in Four Oaks, NC