Sara Hickerson Stuart

She was born Sara Ann Hickerson in Elkin, NC and was the first child of Marie and Robert Hickerson. She spent her earliest years in Sparta, NC and loved the North Carolina mountains deeply throughout her life. But after the family moved to Greensboro, during her fourth-grade year, she enjoyed life on Wright Avenue with her beloved sisters, Eugenia, Cindy, and Mary Jane. Sisterhood was critically important to her, and the Hickerson Sisters were always shining examples of what family should be.

Sara attended Greensboro Senior High School (now Grimsley); there she met classmate, John Calhoun Stuart. They dated throughout high school and college, wed in 1957, and enjoyed a loving marriage for 56 years.

Sara was a stellar student. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Women’s College of Greensboro (now UNCG) with a major in math in 1956. She worked with early supercomputers before her marriage.

Sara and John raised four children in Burlington, Jamestown, and Basking Ridge, New Jersey. Later they returned to Greensboro where they were active members of First Presbyterian Church. Together they enjoyed travel, including a lengthy stay in Almaty, Kazakhstan. And Sara was always active in her community; her involvements included PEO and the Greensboro Historical Society.

Sara is survived by sisters Cindy Bryce (Jerry), Mary Jane McKinney (Mack), daughter Laura Stuart Taylor (Tim), a retired judge, son Robert Lee Stuart (Julie), a retired wood products executive, and daughter Eugenia Stuart Murphy (Chris), an executive in the fashion industry. She was also blessed with six grandsons, John, Hank, Ransome, Jackson, Stuart, and Bobby. They called her Grammie and Grandma Sara and loved her very much. And she also adored her many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband John, her sister Eugenia Hickerson MacRae, and her son, John Calhoun Stuart III.

A memorial service will be held July 23, 2026, at 2:00 in the Virginia Somerville Sutton Theatre at Well Spring following a private service of interment in the columbarium at First Presbyterian Church. The family will visit with guests following the service in the lobby outside of the auditorium.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests gift to the UNCG College of Arts and Sciences, 105 Foust Building, 1010 Woman’s College Way, Greensboro, NC 27412, cas.uncg.edu/giving/ or First Presbyterian Church, 617 North Elm Street, Greensboro, NC 27401, fpcgreensboro.org

The Family especially thanks the loving caregivers at Well Spring who helped Sara at her life’s end.