Sally Banks Meador

Sally Banks Meador, age 83, passed away on Wednesday, January 16th, 2019 in Home Hospice care.She was the widow of the late Guy “Buddy” Atkinson Meador, Jr. and the daughter of the late Martin Luther Banks, Jr. and Sara Elizabeth Gaston Banks. She was the granddaughter of a Methodist minister, the late Reverend Martin Luther Banks of St. Matthews, SC and of the late Judge Arthur Lee Gaston, of Chester, South Carolina. A funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church of Chester, South Carolina on Saturday, January 19 at 1:30 P.M. The Reverend Clay Waldrip will officiate and glorious music will be played. The Family will receive friends at Barron Funeral Home in Chester on Saturday, January 19th from 9:30 a.m.until 11:00 a.m. Mrs. Meador was a graduate of Chester High School and she also graduated at the top of her class at Coker College where she completed a double major in English and Music.Following her graduation from Coker in 1956 she married her high school sweetheart, “Buddy” Meador.During the early years of their marriage, the couple lived in Great Falls, SC; Conway, SC; Elkin, NC; and Anderson, SC before returning in 1970 to live in their hometown of Chester, SC.The Meadors were active members of a Baptist church in each community where they lived.Sally was always a member of the church choir and she was a frequent soloist at church and in community chorus performances of the Messiah.As a long-time member of First Baptist Church of Chester, Mrs. Meador taught Sunday school, volunteered for Kid’s Club and a Wednesday night cook team, served as a Director of WMU, and was a faithful member of the Chancel Choir. Mrs. Meador was an English teacher and an assistant principal at Chester Senior High School, and later she was the Director of Adult Education for Chester County. After retirement from the public schools, she served as the Director of the “Success by Six” program for Chester County.Prior to her teaching career, she was the Editor of the Great Falls Reporter.While in Conway, SC, she taught English in public schools and taught private voice lessons.She was a reporter and photographer for the local paper in Elkin, NC where she also learned darkroom film developing skills. When the Meadors moved to Anderson, she taught a Journalism class at Anderson College and was editor of the college’s Alumni Newsletter.She also served as interim choir director at Boulevard Baptist Church in Anderson.Before moving from Anderson County, she returned to teaching in the public schools at Crescent High School where she taught English and Chorus. The Meadors were involved in the initial organization of the Chester Little Theatre where Sally later played a role in the production of “The Crucible”.She directed a Chester Little Theatre children’s summer production of “Snow White”.She also directed the Chester High School play, “The Mouse that Roared”, presented in the old Brockman Auditorium on Columbia Street.She would most like to be remembered by her students for being a dedicated English and Creative Writing teacher who prepared them well for college, and for life. Mrs. Meador is survived by a daughter, Sara Lee Meador Drawdy (Wes), of Greenville, SC; a son, Guy A. Meador III (Maureen), of Dacula, GA; a son, H. Banks Meador (Kara), of Leesville, SC; a brother, Martin Luther Banks, III (Nancy), of Burke, VA; and a brother-in-law, William “Bill” Henry Skeels, III, of Burlington, NC; eight grandchildren, Sally, Ellen (Nigel Songalia), Cora, Janet, Fiona, Dalton, Evan and Cooper; and two great grandchildren.She is also survived by a number of nieces and nephews, her students, the members of the TEL and the Gleaners ladies Sunday School classes, and her fellow church choir members and church musicians, all of whom she loved. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church of Chester, P.O. Box 518, Chester, SC 29706 or to North Metro First Baptist Church, 1026 Old Peachtree Rd., Lawrenceville, GA 30043.Barron Funeral Home, 133 Wylie Street, Chester, SC is in charge of arrangements.Online condolences may be made to the family at www.barronfuneralhome.com