Sarah Eloise (Kennedy) Davis

Sarah Eloise Kennedy Davis, 86, of Hull, Georgia, died on Saturday, May 27, 2023.

A native of Winder, Georgia, Sarah was born to the late Leonard Lee Kennedy and Jewel Lenora Wood on February 26, 1937.

After growing up in Winder, she moved to Atlanta with her sister Peggy and began work as a telephone switchboard operator for Bell South.

On April 6, 1962, at the age of 25 Sarah married Richard Arliss Davis, an officer in the Atlanta Police Department. Richard and Sarah started a family soon thereafter and Sarah began her lifelong calling as a loving wife, mother and home maker.

Sarah loved gardening and had an amazing green thumb. Her yard was filled with a beautiful assortment of flowers and plants, and her windowsills overflowed with jars of plants she was coaxing to grow. On trips she was always looking for plants to carry back home, often in the form of cuttings that would require a new jar on the windowsill. Despite Richard’s assertion that hell consists of digging hole after hole in the backyard, Sarah’s garden was incredibly vibrant every spring and was a well-deserved source of pride.

Born into a poor family living through difficult times, Sarah knew the value of thrift and hard work. She had great skill as a seamstress, sewing clothes for her children and grandchildren. And she was a renowned cook. Thanksgiving at the Davis house was a highlight on the calendars of family and friends alike. Her Brunswick stew, dressing, yeast rolls and dirt cake demanded second helpings no matter how much you had already eaten.

Along with her parents, Sarah was preceded in death by her husband of 60 years, Richard Arliss Davis; her sister, Helen Jones; and brother, Sam Kennedy. Sarah is survived by her sister: Peggy Simmons; her three children: Vanessa Davis, Beth Arlette Strickland (Terry), and David Davis (Amanda); three grandchildren: Emily Bell, Jeremy Bell (Katie), and Ethan Strickland; and one great-grandchild: Nolan Bell.

Funeral services will be held Friday, June 9th at Lord and Stephens West, Watkinsville at 9:30 a.m. The family will receive friends from 8:30 a.m to 9:30 a.m. before the service. Interment will follow at Georgia National Cemetery in Canton at 1:30 p.m.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, WEST, Watkinsville is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.