Sarah Jane Banks

She taught at Jackson State University from 1973 through 2010 and earlier at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, VA. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA and received a doctorate in Spanish from University of Southern California.

She was a volunteer translator and later the coordinator of translators for the International Ballet Competition in Jackson. She assisted the Mississippi Youth Symphony as a volunteer. She worked with Dr. Charles Weeks in translation and publication of Spanish historical documents from early America. She was a longtime member of the Mississippi Foreign Language Association. She worked with various organizations and activities to promote education, social progress, women’s issues, humanities and the arts.

She was a loving and devoted wife and mother. She loved nature, pets, birds, flowers, zoos and panoramas.

Sarah was born in Punxsutawney, PA on December 6, 1941; daughter of Steven and Carol Niles Banks. She was preceded in death by her parents and by a sister, Dorothy Banks.

She is survived by her husband of 42 years Ed Balthrop of Jackson; son Andrew Balthrop teaching in the United Arab Emirates; daughter Brittany Hayden (Chuck) and granddaughter Amelia Grace Hayden of Bessemer, AL; and sister Nancy Banks of Palm Springs, CA.

Visitation will be held Friday, March 28 at Wright and Ferguson in Ridgeland from 5 to 7 PM. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, P O Box 2052, Jackson, MS 39225-2052.