Sara Offutt Eggleston Wagner was welcomed into the arms of Jesus on August 29, 2025, at the age of 82 years. Sara was born on March 31, 1943, to Lonnie Denver Offutt and Sara Smith Offutt of Munday, Texas. Sara was the valedictorian of Munday High School and graduated with high honors from Abilene Christian (College) University in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in education and began her teaching career as an elementary school teacher in Abilene ISD. She later earned a real estate license while living in Dallas and ultimately a master’s in education from Abilene Christian (College) University in 1978. During her first marriage, Sara had one child, Camille Eggleston Hailey of College Station, Texas, an attorney and a Clinical Associate Professor for the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University. Camille and husband, David Hailey, gave Sara her 3 precious grandchildren: Sara Elizabeth Hailey, Joshua King Hailey married to Victoria Coons Hailey, and Rebekah May Hailey. Joshua and Victoria have twins, Nora and Price. Sara was extremely proud of her little family. She was an avid fan of all the grandchildren’s athletic events and was very excited to watch Nora and Price learning to read. In 1982 when Camille was 16 years old, Sara married Dr. Franklin King Eggleston who later adopted Camille in 1986. Frank preceded Sara in death on July 25, 2021. However, God continued to bless Sara’s life in many ways and one of those was sending retired Brig. General Donald Bert Wagner, USAF, MSC (Ret) to prove you can love again after loss and can fall in love at any age. Sara and Don were married on June 17, 2023, at ages 80 and 93 respectively. Sara and Don were such an amazing couple. Don brought peace and lightheartedness to Sara’s life. They had a mutual respect for each other and honored the memories of their lost spouses as they were building a life together which was cut much shorter than anticipated.

Sara always described herself as a small-town farm girl who grew up with 3 brothers and 15 male cousins. Sara was seen by others as conveying an air of confidence and class, who treated everyone she met with love, kindness and a gentle grace that most of us long to possess. She was known for her stylish look, charm, organizational skills, warmth around children, as well as her quirky reading glasses. She loved to throw a party, and everyone loved to come to her parties for her amazing food. She always made each person feel like they were the most important guests to enter.

Sara was a life-long learner, and her favorite relaxing past-time was spent with a book. She learned to read when she was 4-years old sitting in the first-grade Bible classroom of her older brother, listening to her mama teach. She served in education for over 30 years in both Abilene ISD and Katy ISD. During those years she was a teacher of 4th, 5th and 6th grades and even though the majority of her career was as an elementary school principal, she never stopped being a teacher at heart. Sara was a master at creating a winning school and had a profound impact on education in the state of Texas. She had an incredible ability to read people and to match the personalities of teachers to make strong teams who could influence and guide children. She often said she was once told by her daddy, “Sissy if you don’t learn to read people as well as you read those books, you’re always going to be in a mess.” She inspired teachers and students alike and ran one of the most successful elementary schools in the state of Texas. Pattison Elementary School achieved exemplary status from the Texas Education Agency each year she was principal. In 1994, the US Department of Education recognized Pattison as a Blue Ribbon National School of Excellence…at the time the highest honor in the nation for a school. Pattison received this honor multiple times under Sara’s leadership. In 1995 she was selected as the state nominee by Texas Governor George W. Bush for National Distinguished Principal. Later that same year Sara was selected as National Distinguished Principal by the Bill Clinton Administration. Also, in 1995 she was awarded Abilene Christian University’s Educational Alumnus of the Year. During Sara’s years in Katy ISD, she helped to establish the Challenge program for gifted and talented children and mentored the district’s most profoundly and severely handicapped children who attended school at Pattison. Sara’s school was her ministry. She believed each child could achieve excellence. When interviewed at retirement Sara said her award-winning educational philosophy was based on the principle that, “We can learn as long as we live”. She also believed that relationships are the key to growth and success. She often said, “people don’t care how much I know until they know how much I care”. Sara practiced what she preached. She found time for all her many friends and mentees and was known for just randomly calling to see how you are doing!

After retiring from Katy ISD in 1998, Sara became an international speaker for the Juice Plus+ company. Sara believed in whole-food nutrition and that eating healthier was the key to quality of life. Sara earned the distinction of International Marketing Director for the Juice Plus+ company and numerous awards from the company.

The small-town farm girl loved Houston, loved the crowds and hustle and of course the shopping. Sara and Frank Eggleston were very involved in church, several dental organizations and later the Juice Plus+ company together. During Frank’s time as President of the Texas Dental Association, Sara was his “First Lady of Dentistry” known for organizing many events and received “The Yellow Rose of Texas” award from Governor George W. Bush. She also learned to love travel. She would often tell us what will make us successful in life are the books we read, the people we meet and the places we go. Sara and Frank had many grand adventures on the sea and Sara and Don were certainly the hit of each adventure they went on, making new friends and amazing memories. Sara loved God, her family, and friends. As a faithful member of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Sara was a leader in the women’s Bible study “Go With Grace”, the Gene Decker Sunday School class and the Randy Smith class. Sara served on the Board of the Nic Finnegan Counseling Center and was a member of the Houston West Emmaus Community. To know Sara was to love her. She was a “force of nature” and a light for the Lord. She brought joy to all she knew. She made you feel loved and even when she was “encouraging” you to be the best you could be, you knew you could achieve that excellence because Sara Offutt Eggleston Wagner believed in you. Sara will be deeply missed.

A service to honor the memory of Sara Offutt Eggleston Wagner will be held on Saturday, September 20 at 1:00 pm at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 3471 Westheimer Rd. Houston, TX 77027. Family visitation and reception provided by Taste of Texas to follow in the Fellowship Hall. A family only interment of Sara’s ashes will take place prior to the service in the St. Luke’s UMC Prayer Garden.

The family welcomes flowers or a monetary donation to honor Sara’s memory to: Katy ISD Educational Foundation - Sara Eggleston Wagner Tribute, which will benefit the Foundation’s Inspiring Imagination teacher grant program at https://tinyurl.com/kisdedfoundegglestonwagner
or to Abilene Christian University, P.O. Box 29132 Abilene, TX 79601-9973; or to Munday Church of Christ P.O. Box 211 Munday, TX 7637.

If you are unable to attend the service a livestream of the service will be provided at the following link: https://memorials.stlukesmethodist.org/sara-eggleston-wagner/


Funeral home: Bradshaw Carter Funeral Home – Tripp Carter funeral director.