Surrounded by her family, Sarah McDonald Hardin was called home to her Father on Monday, March 23, 2015, at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. She was 85. Sarah was born in Neshoba County to Herman Bryan McDonald and Lillian Richardson McDonald on December 31, 1929. She and her older brother Basil McDonald were both valedictorians of their senior classes at Laurel Hill High School. Sarah graduated at the age of 16 and enrolled at East Central Junior College. She completed her Associates degree and moved to Meridian where she worked as a telephone operator. It was in Meridian that Sarah met the love of her life, Ned Hardin. She and Ned were married at Carolina Presbyterian Church in Neshoba County on July 3, 1949. The young couple moved to Columbus soon after their marriage. Sarah completed her teaching degree at Mississippi State College for Women and began her thirty-year teaching career in the Columbus Municipal School District. She taught fifth and sixth grades at Barrow Elementary School, Sale Elementary School, and Mitchell Elementary School. She also taught gifted students at Coleman Elementary School, Franklin Elementary School, and Fairview Elementary School. Sarah also taught gifted students at Joe Cook Junior High School where her Odyssey of the Mind team finished 3rd in world competition in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to her teaching, Sarah was a very active member of First Baptist Church of Columbus which she and Ned joined in 1950. Sarah served on the Personnel, Long Range Planning, and the Sanctuary Decoration Committees. She was also a dedicated member of the Women's Missionary Union, a Sunday School teacher in the Youth Department, and the program and events coordinator for the Live Long and Like It (Triple L) group. Sarah's commitment to her church grew out of her deep and abiding faith in her Lord. Sarah was also a volunteer for the Contact Help Line. She was also a member of the Les Amies Study Club, the Rose Club, and the Columbus Pilgrimage Association. Sarah was well-known as a gifted interior designer. Her considerable talents were put to use restoring White Arches, the antebellum home she and Ned purchased in 1967. They spent the next 35 years participating in the annual Columbus Pilgrimage, operating a bed and breakfast and opening their home for social and church events. Those who visited White Arches during those years never failed to comment on the beauty of the home and its decor as well as the genuine hospitality that Sarah and Ned always showed to their guests. Sarah was preceded in death by Ned, her beloved husband of 64 years; her parents; her brother Basil McDonald of Carthage; and her three infant grandchildren, Chad Matthew, Mary Elizabeth, and Joshua Jason. She is survived by her daughter Hope and her son Terrell. Sarah is also survived by her son-in- law Marc De Venney and her grandson Adam De Venney and his wife Katie Ingram De Venney, and three nieces and one nephew. Visitation will be on Sunday, March 29 from 1:30 p.m. until the time of the service at Memorial Funeral Home. A celebration of life service will be held at 3 p.m. at Memorial Funeral Home Chapel. Dr. Shawn Parker, pastor of First Baptist Church, will officiate. Burial will be at Friendship Cemetery immediately following the service. Honorary pall bearers are Charlie and Jewel Holcomb, Mac and Helen McCarty, Jim and Sondra Dowdle, Harry and Betty Lou Dowdle, Terry and Brenda Biffle, Eddie and Pam Helms, and the members of the June Allgood Sunday School Class, The family wishes to acknowledge the wonderful care provided by Tarron Carley, Joyce Turner, and the staff at The Windsor Place Skilled Nursing Center. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church Library, P.O. Box 829 Columbus, Mississippi 39703, or the Contact Helpline P.O. Box 1304 Columbus, Mississippi 39703.
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