Sara Braly Van Horn's Obituary
On Monday, October 26, 2020, Sara Braly Van Horn, loving mother, grandmother, and great- grandmother, who was affectionately called “Nanny”, passed away three months after her 90th birthday in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Sara was born in 1930 to Brown and Janie Braly in Tampa, Florida, where her father was playing professional baseball in the Cardinals organization. Shortly thereafter, due to the Great Depression, her family moved to Gallatin, TN, where they became farmers.
Sara grew up a basketball player and cheerleader. She was elected Homecoming Queen for Gallatin High School in 1946, and then headed off to Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, where she met her husband of 59 years, John William Van Horn, from Lewisburg, TN. They were married in 1950 and had their first of four children in 1952, Dan Braly. John William followed in 1953, Sara Jane (Sally) in 1959, and Clay Dennis in 1960. She was preceded in death by her husband in 2009 and her brother, Brown Braly. She is survived by her second brother, Tom Braly, of Houston, TX.
At the time of her passing, Sara was the proud and supportive grandmother of Benjamin, Janie, Zach, David, Cole, Abigail, Sara, and Callie. She was the great-grandmother of Sawyer, Brooklyn, and Gwendolyn (11 months).
Many of her peers will remember Sara as a championship golfer and bridge player. She loved both activities, as they gave her a way to connect with likeminded people and share life’s challenges. She loved her friends and, more recently, the folks at Grand Village At Clear Creek in Fayetteville, who took such great care of her. She will be dearly missed.
A family celebration of life will be held sometime in the future.
What’s your fondest memory of Sara?
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Share a story where Sara's kindness touched your heart.
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