Sarah McFarland Obituary

Sarah Murphy McFarland

December 23, 1939 - June 27, 2024

Sarah Murphy McFarland, wife of Paul Odom, died peacefully with her husband by her side. Sarah felt she was a most beloved wife as her husband's favorite words were "I love you." Sarah and Paul met at a lecture at Salem College in 2005. For him it was love at first sight. For her it took until the third date. They married at City Hall in New York City in 2011.

New York City was their favorite place to be, and they managed to make one or two or three trips a year for years. While there they visited art museums, attended Broadway and off-Broadway shows, concerts, ballets, and took the Circle Line Cruise around Manhattan.

Sarah's love of NYC was stirred by her first visit at age nine when she told her parents she was moving to NYC when she grew up. They were standing at Times Square. Her parents forgot her declaration; Sarah did not. Fortuitously, upon her graduation from Wake Forest College she answered a major life insurance company recruiter's post for a college training program. When she showed up the recruiter told her he had never had a woman apply, and he would have to get approval from headquarters staff in NYC to interview her. The next day she was told to report for training. NYC was her home base for 16 years. She was able to take home-office positions for three years so that she could go to class in the evening to earn her MBA in Finance from Fordham University.

On returning to Winston Salem Sarah worked as a guide for MESDA in Old Salem, The United Way of Forsyth County in several capacities and Centenary UMC as director of National and World Outreach.

Sarah's parents were Ralph and Pearle Murphy. In addition to her husband she is survived by her brother Frank Murphy, her friend Lynn Smith and by her beloved niece and nephews and their families, and a second cousin, also named Sarah.

Between living in NYC with frequent travel assignments for her work and vacations Sarah was able to visit a total of 40 countries. Many of the personal trips were inspired by her family's annual vacation tradition of seeing the USA by car. This continued until they visited the lower 48 states plus Canada and Mexico.

There will be a service on July 27 at 3 p.m. in the Saal Chapel at Salemtowne Retirement Community in Winston Salem. The family thanks the staff of Salemtowne and Trellis Hospice Care for their meaningful care and support.