WILSON

 A Celebration of Life for Sarah Bell Wilson, 87 of Daingerfield, was held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, at the First Baptist Church in Cason. Burial followed at Clark Cemetery under the direction of Reeder-Davis Funeral Home in Hughes Springs. She fought a good fight. She kept her faith. She finished her course. She is now safely home with her Lord.

Sarah Bell Wilson was born to Joseph and Laura Johnson on June 28, 1928 in Iron Bluff, Texas. She grew up working the fields and tending to her younger brother and sisters, and attended Daingerfield School. She married the love of her life, Kenneth Allen Wilson. Although their time on earth was short, it can always be referred to with pleasure, because of their devotion to each other, and the many things they accomplished together. She will always be remembered by her children: Son, Kenneth Allen Wilson II and wife, Margie; daughter, Teresa Kay Page and husband, Paul; grandsons: Kenneth Allen Wilson III (Ken) and wife, Sarah and their son, Kenneth Allen Wilson IV (Allen), Kelly Joe Wilson and wife Ashley, and their sons: Cal, and Joe Levi. Sarah was blessed to have five siblings: Lavelle Johnson Bell, Bartus Johnson, Laura Jean Johnson Knight, Bobby Joe Johnson and Sue Johnson Hagood. She was blessed with nieces and nephews: Mike Johnson, Melinda Kirby, Gayle Clay, Tommy Joe Bell, Mary Beth Hebert, Melissa Johns, Pam Hall, Shelia Kouldelka, Tony and Bobby Hagood. She loved and admired her little brother, Bobby Joe Johnson and his wife Carol Ann of Jenkins, TX. After the death of her beloved Kenneth in 1980, they were especially kind and considerate of her. She enjoyed many vegetables from their garden every year and many visits with them to pass the time. Much time was spent on the phone with her sister, Laura Jean Kinght and her son, Benny of Laurel, Mississippi. Sue Hagood and husband, Dan were also active in her life, with lots of phone calls and visits. They loved to surprise her and brighten her days with a trip to the Wildflower Restaurant for lunch. At just the right moment, lifelong friend, Jan Fox became her official driver, confidant, and partner in riding back roads and trying out new restaurants, with a couple of mishaps that turned into adventures. To know her was to love her. She had many friends in this life and was dearly loved by all. She always had a smile and a laugh to share with you. She was always ready to ride a back road, visit friends in the nursing home, and get her hair fixed on a weekly basis. It went against her religion to let a ringing telephone go unanswered. Many times it would be her best friend, Evelyn Ragsdale calling to say it was happy hour at Sonic or she had a coupon for the Dollar Store. And off they would go, sometimes twice in one day. As Sarah’s world grew smaller, Evelyn’s act of kindness grew larger. She and another true friend, Barbara Holcombe visited with her every week at Mt. Pleasant Healthcare, bringing her cookies and news of her church family. During her lifetime, she enjoyed camping at Albert Pike in Arkansas, raising a garden and sewing stuffed animals for Christmas. She and Kenneth also cut logs, scraped and hauled them to Jenkins to build a log cabin on family land. Sarah loved to tell people she was an active member of First Baptist Church of Cason, and was always glad when they said, “Let us go in the House of the Lord”. She loved good preaching and was an encourager to Bro. Scott Darby and his much loved wife, Peggy and their family. She helped serve many meals to families in need, purchased supplies for disaster victims, and was ready to climb in the van for a church trip. She stood ready and willing to do whatever she was asked to do. She had an honest, felling heart. After 27 years, she retired from Winn’s Variety store. Many in the community knew her as the “material lady” at Winn’s. Waunice Barnwell, Emily Baird and Juanita Livingston enjoyed keeping in touch with each other by meeting once a month at Hawkins restaurant to catch up on all the news. She cherished the friendship of these dear ladies.

So now, this devoted, trusted and honored lady has finished her course. First Baptist Church of Cason has lost a faithful member, the community, a good neighbor, and her daughter, a best friend, and her son, a loving mother. On this day, please do not mourn her death, Praise God that she lived. The family would like to thank Mt. Pleasant Healthcare for the excellent care, and many acts of kindness shown to her during her stay