Sara Ann Hobbs

Sara Ann Hobbs came a long way from the days of hoeing cotton in Alabama and her baptism in a South Georgia creek.  She described her life as "the miracle of God impacting a life". Her pilgrimage began years ago when, as Sara Ann said, "God created holy unrest in me that said there is somewhere else to go except up and down cotton field rows."  Sara Ann Hobbs became a resident of Silver City in 1993.  Her life here ended Tuesday morning, Aug. 28, in her home in Silver City.  Hobbs was born in Anniston, Ala., in 1929 to Ada and J.B. Hobbs.  She grew up in Chochran, Ga., and graduated from Munford High School in Munford, Ala., Judson College in Marion, Ala., and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.  She taught school briefly in Alabama.  Following her graduation from seminary she held Christian ministry positions in Arkansas and Kentucky.  In 1958, she moved to Raleigh, N.C., where she held several positions with the Baptist State Convention of that state.  She was the director of the Woman's Missionary Union, then director of estate planning for the Baptist Foundation.  In 1979, she became the first and only woman director of a state missions division in Southern Baptist life.  Hobbs' honors and achievements include Southern Seminary Alumnus of the Year, 1980; Judson College Alumna of the Year, 2005; Doctor of Humane Letters, Judson College in 1984; and Doctor of Divinity from Gardner-Webb University, 1985.  Sara Ann was an advocate for women, achieving equal pay for women of the Baptist Convention in the early 1979s.  She became a vocal advocate for women in ministry, speaking to that issue at the national Southern Baptist  Press Association in 1984.  She was an accomplished speaker and let national and local Christian leadership and motivational seminars and conferences.  Hobbs traveled extensively in the Orient, Middle East, and Europe.  Her life changed dramatically in 1989 when she had a cerebral hemorrhage that eventually led to her retirement and move to New Mexico. She then wrote a short book, titled "Journey to Recovery," which chronicled her experience.  She also spoke about it at the state meeting of the hospital auxiliary and at local senior citizen centers.  When she moved to Silver City she became a member of First Baptist Church and joined the hospital auxiliary, a volunteer work that she loved.  She achieved over 2,500 hours with the auxiliary.  Sara Ann is survived by her sister, Mary Hobbs Snodgrass, of Mobile, Ala.; a niece, Susan S. Wheeler of Winter Garden, Fla.; nephews, Phillip A. Snodgrass Jr., of Mobile, and David W. Snodgrass, of Woodridge, Va.; James W. Hobbs Jr., of Prince Frederick, Md.; long-time friend Nancy Curtis of Silver City; and her little rescue dog, Mr. Winston.  Services will be held at 10 a.m., Friday,, September 6, at Valley Community Church, 19 Racetrack Road, Arenas Valley.  In lieu of flowers, consider memorials to the Sara Ann Hobbs Trust Fund, Baptist Foundation, P.O. Box 27506, Raleigh, NC 27611; or Judson College, Development Office, 302 Bibb, Marion, AL 36756.  Attach a note: "In memory of Sara Ann Hobbs."

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