Sarah Barefoot Williams, 75, was born on October 2, 1943 and left us to go home to be with her beloved husband in Heaven on August 25, 2019.  She took her last breath at home surrounded by her family in her bed with her precious kitty, Miss Priss, by her side.

Sarah is survived by her daughter, Jeanne Catherine Barnes and her husband George Allen Barnes.  Sarah is also survived by her four grandchildren, Lia Clay Miller, Ryan Austin Barnes, Roland Seth Barnes and Cory Joseph Barnes.  She also has three great-grandchildren, Carson, Blake and Jameson.

Sarah is also survived by so many that she was a Mother and Grandmother to including Christine Gray and her daughter Samantha Gray.  Both Christine and Samantha lived with Sarah and helped Sarah's daughter, Jeanne, to care for her during the last three years of her life.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Sarah Barefoot Williams to Transitions Lifecare, the Hospice of Wake County, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607 or https://transitionslifecare.org/ .

I, Jeanne, want to share what it was to be the daughter of this beautiful person that was my Mom, Sarah Barefoot Williams.  Most who knew her called her MaLynn. My daughter, Lia, named her this when she was a baby. My Mom then became MaLynn to everyone.  To write this is so very hard. My heart is broken, and I simply cannot believe that my journey with my Mom is over for now. But I know that she is in Heaven with my Dad and the angels.  My Mom is finally at peace after suffering a very long and hard disease that slowly took away all that was the essence of her. The blessing in the last 4 years is that I was able to spend so much time with her.  I will forever cherish every minute, every smile, every silly thing that she said, all the hugs and all the times she said, "I Love You". I want to hold her just one more time. I want to hold my Mom and see her smile at me just one more time and hear her say how much she loves me.  But I know I must trust and have faith that my Mom is where she has wanted to be for many months. She has gone home and is with my Dad.

So, where do I begin to share with you all that she was to me and my family?  So many memories of being a child. Riding in a float in the ocean with my Mom while my Dad sat and grumbled on the beach.  Going to the mountains to see the Wizard of Oz and my Mom warning me to slow down as I ran across the swinging bridge on Grandfather Mountain.  Always making homemade spaghetti when I was sick and French braiding my hair so that I felt pretty. Buying me hot pink elephant leg pants when I was just 7 or 8 years old because I loved them so much.  Playing with me constantly, whether it was putting together puzzles, building make believe houses in the dirt, teaching me to cross stitch or getting me down out of trees when I climbed up way too high. My Mom carved jack-o-lanterns with me and let me bring them in the house to sleep after Halloween because I was worried that they would be afraid of the ghosts.  She helped me to decorate the bushes in front of our house with bright lights and tinsel at Christmas even though it looked terrible. My Mom always made Christmas so magical and I have carried all that magic into my life with my children.

I am an only child, but my Mom never let me feel that way.  She was everything to me throughout my life, and as I grew up, she became my best friend.  My Mom taught me how to be a Mom. When I had children, she gave everything to them that she gave to me.  She loved them and cared for them just like she did me. My Mom helped me to take care of all my children from the time they were born until they grew up to be the incredible young adults that they are today.  She played Barbies with my daughter and let her dance in scarves and beautiful skirts. She put together puzzles with my son and made up stories about dinosaurs to tell him, because he loved dinosaurs so much. She cared for them, played with them, comforted them when they were scared or sick, and made their favorite foods.  She was always there, and she always remained calm and gave comfort to all of us. My mom was my rock.

My Mom was an incredible nurturer and loved everyone.  She was a loving mother, grandmother, caretaker, and role model. She was kind, endlessly patient, and the keeper of cookies. She always had young people around her and never seemed to lose patience with them.  She helped to raise so many of us, including me and my best friends, and her grandchildren and their best friends. The list is so long that I cannot name everyone here. But they all know who they are because they all know that they were loved by her so very much. Everyone always wanted to be at MaLynn's house because it was always a warm, fun place to be, and all she ever wanted to do was take care of people. MaLynn was always willing to play with the kids in a way that was fun for them. The sense of adventure at MaLynn's for my children and their friends was endless when they were growing up, and every day they would ask "what are we going to do today?"

My Mom never truly got angry.  You could tell when she was frustrated, and she would always discipline you when it was needed but it was never done with anger.  I spent many weeks being on restrictions for so many things like coming home late, sneaking off to see my boyfriend, or for thinking I was old enough to drink and then spending the night throwing up.  My Mom handled this as she always did, with grace and a smart comment that the hangover would be punishment enough.

My children got into trouble often too, I believe for being too much like me.  But my Mom never got mad at their antics, with the worst punishment usually being the "quiet room", which was time out in the laundry room.  She always remained calm even when my son Cory jumped too high on the trampoline and caused his brother Seth to bust his head open on the railing.  My mom never got upset or angry, and just calmly called their Dad to take Seth to the hospital, even though she had told all the children over and over to not jump too high. Everything was always done with love and to help us learn what was wrong or to keep us safe.

My Mom was truly a humble person.  She was always lighthearted, witty, and could brighten a room in a second.  She always had time to talk and never seemed to get tired of listening when someone needed to vent or needed her help with any type of problem.  You always felt like you could ask her any questions about life, and she would have the right answer.  Just being around her gave you the sense that everything was going to be okay.

So many of us including me, my family, our friends, and lost souls like the stray kittens that would show up at my Mom's house were taken in by her.  She loved us, cared for us and gave us the happiest memories. We all owe her a debt that we can never repay, and the beauty of my Mom was that it was all given freely with no thought of what she would receive in return.

My Mom took care of us even during our darkest times, whether it was because of heartache, depression, struggling with psychological disorders, or finding our way to our true identity.

My Mom never asked for anything from anyone.  She was always the one taking care of all of us.  I know that when she became sick, it was so hard for her to let us take care of her and she was always worried about us to the very end.

In the last two weeks before my Mom left us, she was confined to her bed and was very confused and disoriented because of the disease.  I will treasure those moments when she smiled so beautifully at each of us as we sat and visited with her. I will always treasure the sweet and funny things that she said to us.  One morning when I woke her up, she smiled at me and said, "I am still alive, how did that happen?". Or when my husband came back to see her the last time that she was conscious, she smiled at me and said, "You brought me a boyfriend".  Even to her last days, she told each of us that she loved us and tried to comfort us with her smiles.

There are no words for me to express how much I loved my Mom.  She was simply an angel on earth, and I was so blessed to be her daughter.  I will always miss her so very much.

I love you Mom and know that you and Daddy will be in Heaven watching over us all.  I will not say goodbye, but rather that I will see you again one day.

Forever in my heart,

Your Daughter