Sarah Anne Walton, 79, passed of natural causes at her longtime Atlanta home on Friday, September 13, under the full Harvest Moon. Born in Augusta on October 3, 1939, she is the daughter of the late Robert Virginus Walton and the late May A. Walton. She is survived by her beloved sister, Edna May Walton of Lake Worth, FL, and her cousins Christina Ainsworth Gora (Joe) of Signal Mountain, TN, Virginia Collester Volf (Butch) of Moncks Corner, SC., and Gaynor P. Collester (Marilee) of Durham, NC.
Anne was a 30-year management employee of Southern Bell / BellSouth. A 1961 graduate of University of Georgia in mathematics (and member of Alpha Omicron Pi), she was the first woman college graduate to be hired directly into management with Southern Bell-Georgia. Beginning in Accounting, she retired as Manager of Customer Records & Billing in the Data Systems organization. An avid lover of opera, movies, plays, and museums of history and art, she was known as an intelligent and caring friend who contributed to many causes. Anne was also an invaluable support in Atlanta to Suzanne Caygill, Originator of Personal Color Analysis, and for her archives which are now housed at Cornell University.
Graveside services were held on September 25 in Augusta, GA, at the historic Magnolia Cemetery. The Rev. Robert Fain of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church officiated. Arrangements were handled by Platt’s Funeral Home.
A Celebration of Life gathering will be held in Atlanta on Saturday, October 19, 2019, at the H.M. Patterson–Oglethorpe Funeral Home from 2-4 pm. Bring your memories. Finger foods will be served.
Donations can be made in Anne’s name to the Augusta Museum of History and the Atlanta Botanical Gardens.