Sarah Lacy Butler of Burlington is looking forward to celebrating her 102nd Christmas this weekend.
“Maw-Maw” Butler worked as a sales clerk at Bell’s on Davis Street in Burlington.
The centenarian attributes her longevity to her love of fried cornbread, pinto beans with onions, collards, strawberry and peach ice cream (three scoops), and Supreme pizza.
Sarah Butler was born in Halifax, Virginia in 1919 and was crowned Miss Halifax County in 1937 before going on to marry the late Rupert T. Butler, who worked as an 18-wheeler truck driver for Associated Transport. The couple had two sons, Rubert Maxwell Butler and Wayne Lacy Butler (deceased), as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Butler is a 73-year member of Grove Park Baptist Church, which she joined January 2, 1949.
She took quilting classes – sometimes as many as three classes a week – at Alamance Community College for 38 years, from 1979 until 2017.
She could have taught quilting herself, but “she didn’t want to do that,” Sarah Butler’s daughter-in-law, Penny Butler, recalled this week in an interview with The Alamance News. “Even in her 90s, she would get down on the floor and pin quilts.”
Butler quit driving at age 98 but continues to live independently in her home with help from round-the-clock caregivers, her daughter-in-law elaborated in the interview.
“You know, most people don’t like their in-laws, but I have a wonderful mother-in-law,” Penny Butler added. “I am so, so fortunate.”
Sarah Butler will celebrate Christmas this weekend surrounded by her loved ones at her home in Burlington. She celebrated her 102nd birthday on September 27.
