Sarah Hendley Landers-Porter

She graduated from Clarke Central High School in 2013 and later attended the University of Georgia. Purple was her favorite color, and it suited her perfectly: bright, distinctive, and impossible to overlook.

Hendley was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents, Nell Marie Howard Landers and James Edward Landers; her uncle, Robert Hendley Lowe Jr.; and her maternal grandparents, Peggy Yarbrough Lowe and Robert Hendley Lowe Sr.

She is survived by her husband, Michael Peagler Porter Jr.; her mother, Leigh Anne Landers; her father, James Steven Landers; her brother, James Lawson Landers; her mother in law, Nancy Rodgers Porter; her father in law, Michael Peagler Porter Sr.; and her three beloved cats, Patricia, Janet Business, and Stuart, whom she affectionately called her “squirrels.”

She is also remembered with enduring love by many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, including both those who went before her and those who remain to carry her memory forward.

Those who loved Hendley may permit themselves to feel what comes: sadness, tenderness, joy at a remembered moment, and anger that arrives without warning. There are parts of our goodbye that remain unanswered, and the unanswered parts do not weaken love; they show how deep it ran. To those who are seeking answers following her unexpected passing: “When your heart can no longer carry its weight, cast your grief out into the sea, and allow the waves to take what you cannot hold.”

Hendley had a gift for being with people. In her younger years, she played soccer and softball, chased concerts and festivals, and looked for places where friends could make a day feel larger than itself. She could start a conversation anywhere, and she did it with an ease that made others feel welcome. She was rarely content to be on the margins of life. She preferred the center of it, being among people, in conversation, and in motion. She had a way of meeting people where they were and making them feel recognized.

Her parents remember that this was true from the beginning. One Christmas, when she was little, Hendley received a tall cone Cinderella hat with ribbons, a sparkly dress, and sparkling shoes. When it was time to go to the store, her parents insisted that she change. They pictured the stares and considered changing her into something more ordinary. But Hendley steadfastly held her ground in protest. At that early age she was already declaring that no one would tell who she could be. Recognizing her dedication to being who she wanted to be, Hendley’s parents chose to stand with her. They let her go grocery shopping as a princess, and they chose to be proud of her, not despite her boldness, but because of it. That was Hendley: she strove in every way to be authentic to herself, and she did not wait for permission from anyone.

Her younger brother remembers another moment that embodies Hendley’s spirit. As kids, every time they went to stay at their grandparents’ house, he would cry and cry until his big sister Hendley, affectionately called “sissy,” let him sit on her lap. Their grandmother would offer Hendley a dollar for the seemingly unending job, and Hendley would take it with a look that suggested she was bargaining, even though she was already committed to giving the comfort her little brother sought. It was her way: a little humor on the surface, and underneath it a steady kind of care for others that never left.

That care for others carried into adulthood, and it had its own Hendley phrasing. When someone came to her overwhelmed, she would often begin with a simple question: “Do you want me to support you, or do you want me to help you find a solution?” People trusted her with their hard days because she could hold feeling and practicality in the same hand. If you ever asked what she was doing, there was a good chance she was supporting one of her many friends through a difficult time, attending an important event simply so another person would not have to stand alone, or organizing a way for friends to stay connected.

Her wedding near the end of the summer of 2025 made visible what many already knew about her ability to touch a wide range of people throughout her life. Friends and family from different backgrounds and walks of life gathered in one place, a living portrait of how far her care and presence had reached across the Athens community and beyond. She brought people together because she believed in people, and she believed people being together was an essential aspect of the human experience. Nearly everyone in the room, despite their differences in experience and background, could share stories about their interactions with her that others in the room could relate to. Hendley built community by showing up, by celebrating others, and by keeping people close to one another.

She also carried a fierce devotion to animals. Hendley regularly supported the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter, and she loved her squirrels, Patricia, Janet Business, and Stuart, with a constant tenderness. She also leaves a lasting legacy through her involvement with the Georgia 4-H Club. The family appreciates every well-wish and every kindness offered in Hendley’s memory. If anyone feels called to offer support, please consider a donation on Hendley’s behalf to the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter or Georgia 4-H Foundation.

Over the last two years of her life, Hendley lived with a serious illness involving liver disease. It is enough to say what is true without letting it eclipse what is larger and more lasting. “There are parts of our goodbye that remain unanswered,” and it is honest to admit that some losses do not resolve into simple explanations. Even so, her life should be remembered not only for what was difficult, but for what was luminous: the friendships she sustained, the gatherings she created, the loyalty she gave, as well as the fierce humor and recognizable spirit that made her Hendley. In the end, the shadow of her death is but a small and passing thing. There is light and high beauty forever beyond its reach. Find the light, and the shadow will not find you.

Hendley’s celebration of life will be held, Sunday, February 8, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Bernstein Funeral Home on Atlanta Highway in Athens, Georgia.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorials be designated to the Georgia 4-H Foundation at https://georgia4hfoundation.org/sarah-hendley-landers-porter/ or to the Madison-Oglethorpe Animal Shelter at https://www.moaspets.com/donate/

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.