Sarah-Finch "Skippy" Maiden Rollins

Sarah-Finch (Skippy) Rollins, died December 22, 2021, at the age of 99. She is survived by her son Guy (Joseph Guy Rollins III) and wife Elaine of Wimberley, Texas, daughter Sally (Sarah-Finch) Sodal and husband Ingvar of Boulder, Colorado, daughter Edna Thomas and husband JT of Yantis, Texas; grandchildren Jeff Gary (Wendy Mason) of Dallas, Texas, and Gina Black (Dr. Wesley) and children Jensley and Stella of Tulsa, Oklahoma; step-granddaughters Cara Rivas (Arthur) and children Nathan and Isabella of Austin, Texas, and Silje Sodal (Pete Claar) and children Evan and Linnea of Seattle, Washington. Also, nieces Marilyn Paris, Bonnie Burnett and Nancy Lee, and nephew Dean Maiden. Skippy was preceded in death by her husband, Joe G. Rollins, Jr. and her brother H.C. Maiden and his wife Natalie of Dallas, Texas.

Skippy was born in Dallas, Texas, July 27, 1922, the daughter of Hicks Carr Maiden and Edna Tugwell Maiden. After graduation from Highland Park High School in Dallas at the age of 15, (where she got her nickname), she attended Southern Methodist University, graduating with honors in 1942. At SMU she was a member of Alpha Theta Phi, which was the precursor of Phi Beta Kappa that came on campus in the late 1940s. She was SMU’s Homecoming Queen her senior year and was president of Panhellenic and also of Delta Delta Delta, a member of Mortar Board, and at graduation received the Decima Lantern Award as outstanding senior girl.

After graduation Skippy taught high school English one year at Franklin, Texas, and then worked a year in the Extension Division at SMU. In 1944, when he was home on leave from WWII, she married Navy Lieut. Joe G. Rollins, Jr., son of Joseph Guy Rollins and Ethel Stratton Rollins of Dallas, at Highland Park United Methodist Church. They celebrated their sixty-fourth anniversary in 2008 before Joe’s death later that year.

After World War II Skippy and her husband lived in Denison, Texas, for eleven years, where Joe practiced law. Upon Joe’s appointment as a Texas Assistant Attorney General, the family moved to Austin in 1957. With the children all in school, Skippy attended the University of Texas, earning a Master of Arts degree.

In 1961 the family moved to Houston. Skippy was a high school substitute teacher for ten years at Memorial High School. She and Joe moved to The Forum in June 1994. In Houston she was a member of Chapelwood United Methodist Church and Chapter CO of PEO. She was a longtime docent at Bayou Bend, the American Wing of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. While at Bayou Bend, her research on Texian Campaigne ware (made in England and commemorating the Mexican War) was published in The Magazine ANTIQUES. Skippy was a 20+-year volunteer in the recovery room at Memorial Hermann-Memorial City Hospital.

All her life Skippy and Joe enjoyed constant reading and extensive travel. Growing out of her interest in genealogy, Skippy published two extensive family histories: The Maiden Family of Virginia and Allied Families 1623-1991, a history of her father’s family, and The Tugwell and Finch Families of Tennessee and Allied Families of Virginia and North Carolina 1635-1993, a history of her mother’s family. She was a member of Colonial Dames of America, Daughters of the American Revolution, Society of Descendants of Washington’s Army at Valley Forge (husband Joe was a member too), and the Huguenot Society.

Besides continuing to travel after her husband’s retirement in 1997, Skippy and Joe served as volunteer instructors in English-as-a-Second Language, and as teachers’ aides in the Spanish bilingual education program in Spring Branch Elementary School.

After 44 years in Houston, in December 2004 Skippy and Joe moved to Boulder, Colorado, where they lived at the Boulder Brookdale Meridian. These native Texans loved Boulder. Skippy was an active member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, and of her PEO Chapter CZ.

Skippy was a life-long learner. She loved her father's expression, "Seize the moment of excited curiosity," as she would eagerly look up the meaning of a new word. Her books were underlined and noted with her thoughts. Her many friends will always remember her life-long patterns of connecting to people, giving to others, staying in touch with people for years, having luncheons with friends, and welcoming visitors to her home. Skippy lived an unselfish life, was kind and gentle, funny and smart.

Sarah-Finch’s body will be cremated, but her vibrant Christian spirit and delightful personality will live in the memory of all who knew her. Sarah-Finch treasured her faith, family and friends. Due to COVID and other concerns, a memorial service at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 4215 Grinnell, Boulder, Colorado 80305 has not been set at this time. In lieu of customary remembrances and for those desiring, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions be directed to St. Paul’s UMC (address supra), the Memorial Fund on memo line, or to TRU Community Care Hospice out of Lafayette who provided truly invaluable help and made it possible to navigate the final weeks.

A celebration of Sarah-Finch “Skippy” Maiden Rollins, who passed away December 22, 2021, will be held Saturday, April 9, 2:00 p.m., at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 4215 Grinnell Avenue in Boulder.