Sarah Joyce Adams Murphy

Sarah Joyce Adams Murphy was born on February 23, 1936, in China Grove, North Carolina, and passed into the heavenly presence of the Lord Jesus Christ on the morning of March 7, 2026, at her residence in the Crystal Bluffs Rehab and Health Care Center in Morehead City, North Carolina.

Daughter of George Lee and Ola Mae Adams, she was affectionately called “Sakie” by her mother, a nickname she later invited her grandchildren to use. Born in the family home on Owens Road in China Grove, she graduated as salutatorian from China Grove High School, where she was also named Miss China Grove High School and received a Citizenship award. She attended East Carolina College, leaving to marry Gerald Edmund Murphy on August 19, 1956, at South China Grove Baptist Church. Their honeymoon was spent at Lake Lure, North Carolina.

Together, Sarah and Jerry built a life shaped by his service in the United States Air Force. As they moved through postings in Yuma, Arizona; Kinston, Winston-Salem, and Mobile, Alabama; Pagwa, Ontario, Canada; Ft. Lee, Virginia; Whiteman AFB, Missouri; the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany; and Langley, Virginia, their family grew. Sarah returned to East Carolina College while Jerry was stationed in Canada, graduating with a major in Business and a minor in Art, with the help of her grandmother Annie Belk who cared for her two young sons. The couple’s five sons were each born in a different state and graduated from different high schools across various cities, states, and countries. Each son became a believer in Christ, an Eagle Scout, and went on to rewarding careers and church ministries, deeply influenced by Sarah’s guidance, love, and example.

A devoted mother and homemaker, Sarah was the family’s taxi driver to music lessons, athletic events, scouting activities, and church functions. She sewed countless patches on Cub Scout and Boy Scout uniforms and expressed her artistic nature through poetry, song lyrics, piano playing, singing, and painting in watercolors, acrylics, and oils. She studied art in Stuttgart under Herr Kast and continued her love of art throughout her life. Sarah had a remarkable talent for antiquing furniture, transforming discarded pieces into beautiful heirlooms that filled her home and were passed to her children and grandchildren. She was also a gifted gardener with a green thumb, growing flowers, vegetables, and even winning first place at an officers’ wives club event with a flower arrangement that included a small watermelon from her garden.

Sarah’s cooking and baking were legendary among her family. She taught her daughters-in-law to prepare her sons’ favorite enchiladas and chocolate pound cake, and she filled holidays with pies, cookies, and gingerbread men. Her sons fondly remember circling the kitchen while she baked, often teasing her with playful requests for fried apple pies. She lived a life of creativity, faith, and quiet strength, leaving behind her husband Jerry, their five sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who will always cherish her memory.