She started as a MCSD secretary and retired as principal. Sarah Garrett dies at 86
Secretary. Teacher. Counselor. Principal.
Sarah Jane Beasley Garrett served the Muscogee County School District in all those positions.
Garrett died Saturday at 86, according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary.
The cause and location of her death weren’t available. Her obituary says she resided at Covenant Woods, a senior living community in Columbus.
Garrett retired in 1999 as principal of Forrest Road Elementary School. She began her career in 1965 as secretary at Midland Elementary School.
A year later, after Midland closed, she became Waddell Elementary School’s first secretary when it opened in 1966.
Earning the necessary college degrees along the way, she rose up the education ranks to become a second-grade teacher at Beallwood Elementary School and a seventh-grade counselor at Eddy Junior High School before leading Forrest Road.
MCSD superintendent David Lewis told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email, “Although I never had the privilege of working with or knowing her, I do recognize the name and appreciate her career path and commitment to the MCSD and its students.”
Retired MCSD superintendent Guy Sims called Garrett a “remarkable person.”
As a principal, “she really put herself into it,” he told the L-E. “She gave that school everything she had, and she made a big difference in the lives of people there. The teachers had a lot of support. She was very engaged with parents. … There were a lot of needs in that school, and she did everything she could to make sure those needs were taken care of.”
Jeanella Pendleton, retired principal of Reese Road Leadership Academy, told the L-E in an email, “She was an amazing lady who mentored greats such as (MCSD region chief) Terry Baker and (retired Davis Elementary School principal) Pauline Talley.”
Garrett’s dedication to education extended beyond Columbus. She served as chapter, district and state president of the Alpha Delta Kappa honorary organization for female educators, as well as regional vice president.
Her funeral will be private, but the visitation is open to the public from 4-8 p.m. Feb. 11 at Striffler-Hamby, 4071 Macon Road.
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 10:17 AM.
