Sarah Lynn Upton Thaggard

Sarah Lynn Upton Thaggard, 83, of Fayetteville, NC, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at Hope Mills Retirement Center. Sarah was born and raised in Fayetteville, NC. She graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1957 and continued her friendship with several classmates through the years, especially Peggy and Fred James. They shared in each other’s lives even in the days before her passing. Sarah married Gary McNeill Thaggard in 1959. She and Gary had two daughters and they were devoted and loving parents. They lived in Winston-Salem, Greensboro, then on to Brunswick and Athens GA before returning home to Fayetteville. Sarah was a devoted wife for 53 years until Gary passed away in 2012. Sarah was a dedicated secretary to the NCDOT Resident Engineer for a career that spanned 30 years. For a majority of those years, Sarah worked under the leadership of Buck Clark followed by Sonny Cain. Some of her highway family would say, Sarah was the right hand of the engineer in many ways. Sarah loved her work and many of those she knew became part of her extended family, such as Joan, Ernest, James, and Ringo to name a few, even her bosses were lifelong friends. Joan has also been by Sarah’s side through thick and thin, and was dedicated to her right up to the end. Sarah was preceded in death by her husband, Gary M. Thaggard; father John W. Upton and mother, Kathleen D. Upton; sister Jeanne U. Freemon; and grandson, Christopher E. Rogers. Sarah is survived by two daughters, Donna Thaggard Eicher and husband Dennis, Susan Thaggard Nalls and husband Randy; five grandsons, Ryan Eicher and wife Tamara, Jordan Eicher and wife Gabby, William Nalls II and wife Evelyn, Cameron Nalls, and Stephen Nalls and wife Kaylee; three great-grandsons and one great granddaughter, Lucas Eicher, Cayden Eicher, Bill Nalls, and Grace Nalls; brother John W. Upton, Jr. and wife Nancy; and many nieces and nephews. Sarah was well-known for her sense of humor. She loved being the center of attention and telling stories to make people laugh. She deeply loved and cherished her family and life-long friends. Sarah had a deep faith and trust in God throughout her life. She knew her real home was heaven. In her last days, she often called upon Jesus (and Gary) to come bring her home. For certain, she is there entertaining family and friends and filling heaven with laughter. Sarah enjoyed any type of shopping immensely. Sarah and Gary liked to shop together in their retirement years and loved going on trips anywhere in NC be it at the coast with family or the mountains and potteries with friends. Sarah and Gary would often meet their daughters to go antique shopping and spend time together. Sarah loved going to the beach, which she was able to do nearly every month over the past 10 years. She loved beach combing and walking on the boardwalk finding a swing to sit on and watch the waves, as she was unable to navigate walking on the sand these past few years. She loved Christmas and Christmas decorations, and has been known to leave her decorations up indefinitely. She shared family stories with all the cousins over the years and everyone was silent as she recounted her childhood adventures again in vivid detail. The room would erupt in laughter as if you were present during these adventures. Sarah was a wonderful mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She was a great storyteller and she was known to embellish ghost stories in such great detail that her young grandsons did not sleep after hearing them, but they absolutely loved the stories and have recounted the tales with much laughter over the years. Sarah attended countless sporting events, plays, awards ceremonies, and graduations for both her daughters and all of her grandsons. She was never one to watch in silence, she has been known to blurt out kudos during a ceremony and she has been known to yell at an umpire during the grandsons sporting events. She was one of a kind and we would not have it any other way. Interment will be a private event.

Sarah Lynn Upton Thaggard

September 19, 1939 - September 5, 2023