Sarah Janie Windley, 94, Lankenau Hospital employee and devoted churchwoman
Her Southern cooking was cherished by family and friends and her church.
SARAH JANIE Windley's door was always open to family members who needed a place to chill out and, if they were lucky, they could get a taste of her good, down-home Southern cooking.
Her generosity and special brand of caring were treasured by family and friends through her long life. She died Sept. 23 at age 94.
She was a mother of True Mission United Holiness Church, where she was a longtime missionary and always available to undertake whatever the church needed - including her Southern cooking for special events.
"In accordance with her Christian upbringing, Mother Windley developed a spirit of love and giving that spanned the course of her life," her family said.
She was born in Plantersville, S.C., the youngest of the eight children of Gabe and Hester Miller. She got her early education in the Plantersville public schools.
She married the Wesley Windley in South Carolina. They lived in Tabor City, N.C., for a time before coming to Philadelphia.
Sarah worked at Lankenau Hospital in laundry service for 26 years, retiring in 1983.
Her spiritual journey began at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church in Plantersville. After arriving in Philadelphia, she became a member of First Union Holiness Church of God and later True Mission United Holiness Church, where she remained an active member for more than 40 years.
Sarah was always fashionably turned out, with special emphasis on hats. She enjoyed crocheting and making her own clothes and clothes for family members. She also enjoyed traveling, shopping and reading her Bible.
She is survived by six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by two sons, Wesley Windley Jr. and Lawrence Windley, and a daughter, Mazarene.
Services: 10 a.m. tomorrow at the 46th Street Baptist Church, 1261 S. 46th St. Friends may call at 9 a.m.