Sarah Weatherby Stephens McAlpine, age 84 of Blanket Creek Ranch, passed away on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at Hendrick Medical Center in Brownwood with her husband Bill by her side.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 pm, on Sunday, September 3, 2023, at First Baptist Church in Brownwood. Interment will be private. Arrangements are under the direction of Blaylock Funeral Home of Brownwood.
Sarah was born in Temple, Texas, on July 11, 1939, to Maxine and Joe Weatherby. She became Sarah Stephens when she married H.H. “Bud” Stephens on August 3, 1963. After his death, she married William McAlpine on January 18, 2007.
She loved the different adventures in life, including living in Brownwood. She attended college at Lindenwood Girls School in Saint Charles, Missouri, and graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. While at Lindenwood, Sarah was elected to be a duchess at the Harvest Court. At SMU, she loved being a Pi Beta Phi and was selected Best Dressed Girl on Campus and Rotunda Beauty.
Sarah served the Lord as an active member of the First Baptist Church in Brownwood. As the wife of a bi-vocational preacher, she supported the ministry of Church Starters, with seven churches started in Brown County. She was a faithful Christian who believed in the power of prayer. Sarah was also proud of her heritage and was a member of the Region of the Mary Garland Chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a charter member and president (1982-1983) of the Women’s Club of Brownwood and president (1981-1982 and 1997-1998) of the Rotary Club, now Friends of Rotary. Sarah was also a charter member of the Hospital Auxiliary, and she volunteered at Good Samaritan Ministries. She also loved the bridge group with which she shared many happy times and life experiences.
Sarah is survived by her husband, William McAlpine, of Blanket Creek Ranch; two daughters and their families, Deborah and Robert Davis and Teresa and Ryder Lee; grandchildren, Colton Lee and wife Jackie Lee, Macey Lee, Brandon Crowder and fiancée Madison Martenik, Stephen Crowder and wife Sophie Crowder, and Sarah Crowder Sullivan and husband Sam Sullivan; great granddaughters, Harper Kate, River Jade, and Karter Sage Lee; a niece, Teresa Turner; and cousin, Ernest Fletcher.
Sarah was preceded in death by her parents, Maxine and Joe Weatherby; brother, Joe Weatherby Jr.; husband, H.H. “Bud” Stephens; and stepson, William McAlpine III.
In lieu of flowers, Sarah asked that donations be made to the Joe N. Weatherby Scholarship Fund at Howard Payne University (www.hputx.edu/giving/) and Good Samaritan Ministries (www.goodsambwd.org/) in Brownwood, Texas.
