Sara Cornelia (Grubbs) McWhorter

Sara Cornelia Grubbs McWhorter passed away gently December 14, 2021 in her 96th year at Givens Health Center, in Asheville NC with her son by her side.

A native of Barnwell SC, she was the youngest of 4 children of Janie Susan and Judson Buist Grubbs. She learned from a young age to be a person of strength and deep faith. She attended Limestone College and was employed as a welfare worker for several years until she met and married the love of her life-John L McWhorter. Together they lived throughout Western North Carolina as John served as a Minister in the Western North Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church. Sara made each home as warm and inviting as she was. They retired to Lake Junaluska NC where Sara continued her passions of decorating homes and gardening. Her garden was her pride and joy and is enjoyed by the walkers at the Lake Junaluska as they come and go across the footbridge. In 2007 they made the move to Givens Estates in Asheville where after 58 years of marriage John passed away.

It was here she met Tracy MacFarlan and a companionship of love and respect grew to marriage in November of 2010. She and Tracy enjoyed 7 years of marriage before his death in 2017.

Sara was a woman of moral strength and character with a compassionate heart and a wonderful sense of humor. She had a deep faith in God and his plan for her in her life. Sara was always involved in the community in which she lived – from theatre in Gastonia, decorating in Charlotte and Lake Junaluska and gardening wherever she could convince someone to help her turn the dirt. She loved to make people happy and opened her home to her friends and their friends at every opportunity. She was often seen in the garden early morning cutting buckets full of roses for someone’s event.

Her deep love of family led her to one of her last passions – writing her family history. She believed that the oral history that she knew should be recorded for future generations. It was a process that took many years and the help of many people but finally at the age of 90, with the support of her husband Tracy, she published her book – A Lifetime of Memories: The Stories and History of Our Grubbs Family.

Sara is survived by her two children, Fred McWhorter (Michelle Odom) and Beth McWhorter (Tom Coward). Nephews Chris Bickley (Anne); John Bickley (Valerie); Steve Witherspoon (Donna); Jim Witherspoon (Melody); Margaret Lois Sealy (Harry); Roseanne Grubbs; Med Grubbs (Cindy), great nieces and nephews, and great great nieces and nephews. In addition her MacFarlan family Susan McFarlan (James); John McFarlan (Jan ); and Lynn McFarlan-Randall (Christopher)

Arrangements for a celebration of life will be announced at a later date.

In Lieu of Flowers please make Donations to Lake Junaluska – Lake, Grounds & Recreation Fund.
https://www.lakejunaluska.com/support/donate/annual_fund/ or by phone, call the Office of Development at 828-454-6749 or toll free at 866-256-1079 or a donation by mail, send to:
Lake Junaluska Assembly Inc.
The Office of Development
PO Box 67
Lake Junaluska, NC 28745

Groce Funeral Home at Lake Julian is assisting the family.