Log in

Submit a memorial

Celebrate your loved one’s life in a way that’s as independent as they were – in the Daily Independent and on YourValley.net. Share fond memories, photos and information on celebrations of life using our easy, step-by-step process.


Sarah Ann (Mawhorter) Early

Posted

Sarah, teacher and homemaker, passed away suddenly and peacefully in Glendale, Arizona on May 26, 2021, at the age of 85.
Her husband, P. Stephen Early, preceded her in death, February 28, 2008, at age 78 in Sun City, Arizona. Sarah is survived by her son, Stephen T. Early, and a sister-in-law Mary (North) Mawhorter.
Sarah was born near Cosperville and Wawaka, Indiana on July 25, 1935, to TJ Mawhorter (+1973) and Agnes (Evans) Mawhorter (+1990). She grew up in an active farming family with her three brothers and one sister. She was active in 4-H, particularly in handicrafts, and graduated from Wawaka High School in 1953. Sarah attended Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois, graduating in 1957. Soon after, she moved to Denver, Colorado where she was employed as a schoolteacher. It was in the Denver area that she met her future husband P. Stephen Early. Sarah and Steve were married December 27, 1958, in Indiana at Cosperville Baptist Church.
Steve’s work as an engineer with Link Aviation meant a number of moves during their early marriage. In Anchorage, Alaska Sarah gave birth to her only son, Stephen T. Early, on August 15, 1962.
Sarah was a dedicated wife, mother, and homemaker in health and in sickness in Anchorage and through subsequent moves to Binghamton, New York, Huber Heights, Ohio, and finally to Sun City, Arizona where husband Steve eventually retired.
As active church members, Sarah and Steve sang in Baptist and Presbyterian Church choirs, before finding their final church home in American Lutheran Church in Sun City.
After Steve’s death, Sarah lived a quiet life in Sun City, enjoying regular visits, letters, and calls from local and distant friends, relatives, and her son Steve.
A faithful Christian and loving mother to the end, she is greatly missed. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain!”