Sara O’Dell Kimes, age 99, died on Monday, March 19, 2018 at the Lynchburg Nursing Center in Lynchburg, TN.
Sara was preceded in death by husbands, James B. O’Dell and George H. Kimes; parents, Mr. and Mrs. Austin Lewis; brothers, Alvin Lewis and Henry Lewis; sisters, Alein Lewis, Lucille Lewis and Marie Anderston. She is survived by step daughter, Billie Ann Warner; step sons, Richard B. Kimes and John Binford Kimes, twelve grandchildren; thirteen great grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
She was a member of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, where she served as an Elder for three years. A 1937 graduate of West Tennessee Business College, she was employed as Catalog Sales Office Manager of Sears Roebuck for fourteen years and Bonds and Insurance Department of Regions Bank (National Bank of Commerce/Union Planters) for twenty-five years. She was awarded the Jackson Rotary Club 4-way Test Award for personal and professional contributions in January 2001 and the Youth Town of Tennessee Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
Sara served on the Board of Directors for Youth Town of Tennessee for over twenty years, where she raised over 125,000 through soliciting contributions and cake sales. Known as “The Cake Lady”, she utilized her baking talents to help those in need. Her cakes were enjoyed by many citizens of Jackson, as well as, celebrities Carl Perkins and Jay Leno. She had a loving, caring spirit that was expressed by her many visits to sick and shut-ins.
SERVICES: A funeral service will be held at 1:00 PM Friday, March 23, 2017 in the chapel of Arrington Funeral Directors, with Rev. Terry Hunley, Nick Pappas officiating. Burial will follow in the Maple Springs Cemetery, Medon, TN.
A visitation will be held on Thursday, March 22, 2018 from 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM at Arrington Funeral Directors.
Memorial donations may be directed to Youth Town of Tennessee. PO Box 1385, Jackson, TN 38302 or to the Maple Springs Cemetery Association, 155 Maple Springs Road, Medon, TN 38356.
Arrington Funeral Directors, 148 W. University Parkway 668-1111
www.arringtonfuneralgroup.com