"Sadie Williams Yeager departed this life on January 28, 2006. She was ninety-three years old. She was born March 1, 1912, at Williams Mountain, the youngest child of James A. Williams Jr. and Parthenia Woodrum Williams.

"She was known as a hard-working, independent woman and a lifelong resident of Boone County. She was a faithful Christian and member of the Williams Mountain church of Christ. She was tireless in her fundraising for the Williams Mountain Cemetery. She was active in the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) and was a lifelong supporter of the Republican party."

When I first came to Boone County in 1986, it was not long before I met Sadie. She was a member of the church on Williams Mountain, not far from Seth. Sadie and I "hit it off" "right off the bat!" I liked her from the start. She was a straight talker and one who loved the church. Of course, she was not always right (Who is always right?), but her motivations were always right. She loved God; she loved Jesus; she loved the Bible; she loved the church of Christ; and she loved the souls of men and women and wanted them to be saved eternally. Sadie was a lady who had a great desire to see her family living right for the Lord. She, herself, had a great desire to be right in the sight of God. She had a penitent heart.

Not very long after I met Sadie, she asked me to come to her little house to talk. We talked about everything: the weather, gardening, politics, about her ancestors and how they settled the Williams Mountain area, her work in keeping up the family cemetery, about the Bible, the church, etc. It was a good visit, and I remember thinking how I genuinely liked this older sister. As I was leaving, she said, "Jim, I want to ask you to preach my funeral." She was just that straightforward with it and spoke of it with as much ease as if she had been talking about planting peas or voting in the last election.

I told her I would be honored but that she would probably not die for a long time. She looked at me straight in the eye and with a kind of surprised look said, "Our lives are like a vapor ..." I did not say anything else about it. I only smiled and nodded my head in agreement.

I learned, later, that she had told her family and several others that she wanted me to preach her funeral when the time came and, in fact, that she had meticulously written down instructions for that event in her journal and in several other places.

In January, 2006, Sadie passed from this life and on to her reward. 2 Timothy 4:6-8. Those of us who knew her were blessed for the experience.

I know the Bible is right, and I know that, if I live faithfully for my Lord, one day I will see Jesus and all the redeemed of all ages. What a wonderful thought! This is a great part of our hope in Him. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

It was my distinct honor to preach Sadie's funeral service on January 31, 2006, with the assistance of brother Rick Tincher, one of Sadie's very favorite people. P.O. Box 285, Crum, WV 25669.

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