Sara Alice Darby

Sara Alice Bradley Darby, 91, died on February 5, 2015, following a short stay at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida in Jacksonville. Her parents, Cliff and Wildred Bradley, to whom she was devoted, granddaughter Cana Anthony Ivey, and her husband, Robert F. Darby, the love of her life, preceded her in death. Born in 1923 in Statesboro, GA, Sara Alice for a brief time attended Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, later receiving an undergraduate degree from Georgia Teachers College in Statesboro, where she was active in a variety of service organizations and social clubs. In 1943, she wed her sweetheart since childhood, the late Robert Fred Darby, also of Statesboro. Upon their move to Jacksonville in 1947, Mrs. Darby again became active in a variety of service organizations, including parents' groups at Hendricks Avenue School and The Bolles School, her church, Hendricks Avenue Baptist, and many others. She and her husband were both steadfast supporters of the Salvation Army of Northeast Florida, as well as nationally and internationally. In the years following her husband's retirement, Sara Alice and Bob traveled extensively throughout Western and Central Europe and the former USSR. It was, however, Wengen, Switzerland for which they developed a fondness that led them to return time after time. Sara Alice was an original in all ways, choosing eclectic apparel that set her apart from the crowd; should the hues of an outfit include green and blue, she might well don two shoes matching in style, but one green, the other blue. She and her admiring husband were regulars in the dining room of San Jose Country Club for many years; she often dressed to the nines in just the right frock, Bob equally sharp in his jacket and ascot. Sara Alice never met a stranger and considered every person as deserving of kindness. A born optimist ceaselessly buoyed by her strong faith, she always viewed life's glass as half full, even following the death of her beloved husband in 2012. The two had penned a love story that spanned nearly nine decades, seven of those in a marriage that many saw as a model. Son Bradley and his wife Anne of St. Augustine, FL; son Leonard and his wife Catherine of Greenville, NC; granddaughter Seyward and her fiance Corey Sobel of Brooklyn, NY, and great-grandson, Samuel Ivey of Bend, OR, survive Mrs. Darby. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on February 10 at Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn Cemetery, with Reverend Steve Darby of Statesboro, GA as officiant. A visitation with the family will be at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home immediately following the service. The family extends their gratitude to the staff of Brookdale Southside for their care of Sara Alice in her later years, as well as to those at Community Hospice of Northeast Florida for their kind attention in her last days. In lieu of flowers, tributes may be made to The Salvation Army, in memory of Sara Alice and Bob, one and the same, as always.