Sara Beth (McCraw) Swope

Mrs. Sara Elizabeth “Sara Beth” McCraw Swope, a longtime resident of Braden, Tennessee, passed away July 15, 2015 in Memphis at the age of 89.

Sara Beth was born and raised in Braden and graduated from Fayette County High School in Somerville.  She attended Texas State College for Women in Denton where she graduated in 1947 with B.A. and B.S. in Fine Art and Math. After college, Sara Beth moved to Fort Worth, Texas and worked as a commercial artist for an engineering firm.  She took the measurements that the engineers provided and drew maps of the earth layers for oil drilling crews to reference.  During this time, she met her husband, Henry H. Swope; they married in Dallas.

During the first ten years of their marriage, Henry and Sara Beth travelled throughout Texas because Henry, a geologist, sought out sites for flood-control dams.  Later, the family settled in Seguin, Texas, where Henry and Sara Beth operated a business.  While living there, Sara Beth attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos to earn her teaching certificate. In 1969, Sara Beth returned to Braden, became a school teacher, and developed her passion for teaching.  Throughout her career, she taught at Fayette County elementary schools where she encouraged the learning potential in each of her students at Braden (Northwest), Braden-Sinai, and Bernard.

After her retirement, she enjoyed studying and researching genealogy and traveling to many places of interest in search of family history. She enjoyed the outdoors, friends, family, and in-depth conversations about family lineage. She was a member of the Zachariah Davies Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and she attended Braden United Methodist Church.

Sara Beth was preceded in death by her husband and her parents, Chester M. McCraw and Mary Shore McCraw of Braden, Tennessee. She is survived by her sisters, Mary Ann McMillan of Winter Garden, Florida and Louise Cocke of Braden, Tennessee. She leaves behind three children, Sally McKemie (Chester) of San Tan Valley, Arizona; Elizabeth Hardzog (Larry) of Enid, Mississippi; and Henry M. “Mac” Swope (Trish) of Memphis, Tennessee. She also leaves three grandchildren—Cally McKemie Claussen (Allan), Tara Ellen Swope, and Austin McKinney Swope—and two great-grandchildren—Dalton and Callan Claussen.

Services of Remembrance for Mrs. Swope will be conducted at 2 P.M. Sunday, July 19th at the Braden United Methodist Church with visitation one hour before services. Graveside Services will be conducted at 9:30 A.M. Tuesday, July 21st at the Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas. Arrangements will be provided by Peebles Fayette County Funeral Homes & Cremation Center - Main Chapel of Somerville.

The family requests that memorials be directed to the Braden United Methodist Church, 230 Highway 59, Mason, TN 38049, Fayette County Historical Society, P.O. Box 304, Somerville, TN 38068 or the Alzheimer's Association, 713 S. Mendenhall Road, Memphis, TN 38119.