Sarah Wood Benson May 7, 1942 – April 7, 2026 

 Sarah Benson, a resident of the Waters at Roan Highlands in Roan Mountain, passed away unexpectedly at Sycamore Shoals Hospital on April 7, 2026. 

 Sarah was the fourth of seven children born to the late Pastor Oscar Benjamin and Faye Hooper Wood in Anderson SC. After graduating from Happy Valley High School, she attended ETSU as a music major and was active in the Baptist Student Union, the Singing Republicans, and the ETSU Choir. She was musically gifted, a talented pianist and organist, with a beautiful, operatic voice. Her artistry extended to cooking, painting, sewing, needle point, and crochet. Her widely varying interests led her to many careers, from insurance, to tractor trailer and taxi driving. 

 Sarah showed her faith in God in everything she did. She attended and was the pianist for Butler Baptist Church until her health no longer allowed. She did mission work both in California and Guyana as a summer missionary and loved meeting people from all walks of life. 

 Sarah always had a story to tell and enjoyed reminiscing over tales of family history and hilarity. She especially loved sharing the accomplishments of her son, grandsons, and her beloved great granddaughter, Storm. 

 In addition to her parents, Sarah was preceded in death by Jennifer Benson (daughter), Jonathan Benson (husband), John Larchar (husband), brothers Lambert Wood (Drue), Jerry Wood (Nancy), David Wood, and sister-in-law Mildred Gouge Wood. 

 Those remaining to cherish her memory are her son, Matt Benson (Benji), grandsons Sterling Biggs and Ivan Biggs (Alicia Zeng), great-granddaughter Storm Zeng, brothers Paul Wood, Dan Wood (Cara), and sister Rebecca Reece (Charles). Her many nieces, nephews, cousins, and other extended family will also greatly miss her humor and wit. 

 Service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 25th at Butler Baptist Church in Butler TN. The  family will receive friends from 12-1 p.m. prior to the service and an interment will follow the service at Butler Cemetery.  We would like to thank the staff of the Waters at Roan for their care and Memorial Funeral Chapel in Elizabethton TN for their loving care and assistance. 

 In addition to flowers, contributions may also be made to Butler Baptist Church to furnish memorial Bibles for the Gideon Organization to distribute.