MARION, VIRGINIA:
Sarah Emma Sparger Staley, The Teacher of Methodist Preschool, Dies at 55
Sarah Emma Sparger Staley, of Marion, VA, died Wednesday, June 3, 2009, at her home in Marion, VA. She saw and enhanced the good in us all through her self-sacrificing love as a wife, daughter, sister, mother and friend; demonstrating God's love by her every deed. Sarah was born May 25, 1954 in Mt Airy, NC, daughter of the late Haywood Merritt Sparger and surviving mother Nancy Worley Sparger of Marion, VA. After her graduation from Marion High School she attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute. She is survived by the love of her life of forty years, Emmitt Denton Staley; her beloved children; daughter, Jessica Staley of Abingdon, VA; son Aaron Staley of Fairfax, VA; and son Nathan Staley and daughter-in-law Heather Staley of Linden, VA. She is further survived by brother Dr. H. Merritt Sparger, Jr. and Ann Sparger of Salem, VA; sister Nancy and Michael Barker of Meadowview, VA; brother John and Becky Sparger of Marion, VA; and brother-in-law J.S. and Sara Staley of Marion, VA; and 18 nieces and nephews. Sarah was a lifetime member of First United Methodist Church, Marion, VA where she served as preschool teacher for over 20 years. The family will receive friends Friday, June 5, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Marion, VA. Funeral service will be held Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Marion, VA with Rev. Jonathan Jonas officiating; with private interment at Roselawn Cemetery following. Donations, in lieu of flowers, to the First United Methodist Church Preschool , 115 S Church Street, Marion, VA 24354 or Hospice of Southwest Virginia, 600 West Ridge Road, Wytheville, VA 24382. The family is requesting stories of how Sarah has touched your life, or memories, through a memorial website at www.memorialwebsites.legacy.com/sarahstaley
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the family at www.seaverbrown.com. Seaver-Brown Funeral Service and Crematory is serving the Staley Family.