Sarah Adkins never failed to light up a room with her contagious smile, her sincere concern for friends and strangers alike, and her clever (and occasionally off-color) sense of humor. If you had a good story, funny or sad, she wanted to hear it, and it seemed she always had one of her own to share with you.
Sarah met the love of her life, Terry Adkins, in one of the family’s favorite stories. Trying to play a joke on her friend who drove the Pepsi truck, Sarah attempted to move it around the corner, only to have Terry yell at the scrappy teen girl trying to steal his truck during his first day on the job. The two were blessed with five loving children and a lifetime of memories together. Sarah passed away on what would have been their 64 th wedding anniversary, November 29, 2022.
Sarah was born in Beckley, West Virginia in 1938, and after graduating from Trap Hill High School, served in the US Air Force, where Airman Sarah “Robbie” Roberts was a known instigator of hijinks and shenanigans. She married Terry in 1958 and was honorably discharged the following year (as was protocol at the time) because she was expecting the couple’s first child. Terry continued to serve in the Air Force, and his duty-station changes meant many relocations and kids born in different states. Sarah never missed a beat. She’d make friends in the new community, then teach others how to stretch an airman’s salary to feed a whole family. God bless pinto beans and cornbread!
The couple eventually settled in Chickasha, Oklahoma, where friends recall Sarah for her quick wit as a server at the Country Club and as author of a humor newspaper column, “The Merry Go Round”. Sarah studied English at USAO and enjoyed sharing her love of reading by tutoring adults in literacy, often swapping out the grade-school readers for tabloid stories about UFOs and Big Foot, just to make the learning fun. The family also owned a local restaurant, Sarah’s Kitchen. After spending several years in Nashville, TN for Terry’s job, they retired to Chickasha, relishing being close to friends and family, especially grandkids.
Sarah is preceded in death by her husband, Terry Allen Adkins; her parents, Robert L. Roberts and Mary Delcie (Keith) Roberts; infant siblings Hilda Gay Roberts and Warren D. Roberts; and three sisters, Patricia Ann “Patty” Wilson, Mary Lee Roberts, and Sharon Ann “Tootie” Stoots.
Sarah’s passing will be mourned, and her life celebrated, by her children, Tamra [and Raymond] Capps of Rockwall, TX; Cindy [and Kelly] Longanacre of Chickasha, OK; Karen Vidak of Cocoa, FL; Joy [and Chris] Lavigne of Newcastle, OK; and Andy Adkins of Tulsa, OK; and by her sister, Elsie Garrison of Prosperity, WV.
Her grandchildren include Austin Capps of Chicago, IL; Michelle [and Tyler] DeLong of Austin, TX; Andrea [and Adam] Poston of Titusville, FL; Erica Birchum of Cocoa, FL; Josh [and Julie] Longanacre of Chickasha; Kelsey [and Barney] Karper of Oklahoma City; and Bridget Lavigne of New Orleans, LA.
Great-grandchildren include Clint Longanacre of Chickasha, Colby Longanacre of Chickasha, Alyssa Krupnick, Josh Poston, Abby Poston, and Annie Poston, all of Titusville, FL; and Josh DeLong of Austin, TX.
While Sarah loved far too many friends to list, a few who have been close to Sarah’s heart since the loss of her husband are Deborah McWilliams, Sheila Raczynski, and Joy Kronk.
The family would also like to thank the service providers who helped us care for Sarah: Choice Hospice, Glenhaven Retirement Village, and Physician House Calls.
Memorial service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Meals on Wheels ( https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/ ) or ProLiteracy (proliteracy.org).