Sara A.M. Douglass
Sara Ann Martin Douglass, 77, passed away in the loving presence of her family on Dec. 2, 2018.
Sara was born in Hot Springs, Ark., on Aug. 31, 1941, to Clifford and Dorothy Martin. She graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1959 and attended the University of Arkansas, then graduated from St. Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing.
She practiced as a licensed practical nurse in Wisconsin and Anchorage, Alaska, and ended her nursing career many years ago as the school nurse at Cutter Morning Star. Sara grew up attending and was married at Central Baptist Church, where her grandfather, Dave Finch, rang the church bells every Sunday morning in the 1950s and ’60s.
In 1955, 14-year-old Sara went with her parents to Los Angeles to appear on the national TV show “Place the Face.” The Ralph Edwards’ show gave three clues to celebrities so they could guess the person from their past, who was hiding behind a screen on the stage. A decade earlier, 2-year-old Sara served as the flower girl for Gail Robbins, a movie star who was Betty Grable’s understudy at Fox Studios. Gail was on hiatus from filming and visiting her GI fiancé, who happened to work at a World War II defense plant in Hays, Kan., with Clifford Martin, Sara’s father. Gail and her fiancé, Bob Olson, decided on a whim to marry during her visit and choose Sara as their flower girl. In remembering her TV appearance, Sara said, “Gail guessed who I was when they gave her the last clue, ‘On a Slow Train from Arkansas.’”
Sara attended Arkansas’ Girls State in 1958 and was asked to serve as a counselor the following year. In 1964, she survived the devastating 9.2 earthquake at Anchorage, Alaska, while her husband was stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base. During the ’70s, Sara enjoyed participating in weekend volksmarches across Germany with her family. Returning home to Hot Springs, she became an accomplished hobbyist-artist, and in her final days, was fond of telling others how her paternal grandmother, Billie Riley, had been Hot Springs’ first policewoman.
Sara was preceded in death by her husband, Wayne Douglass; parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Martin; and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. David E. Finch, and Mrs. Billie Martin Riley.
She is survived by son, Wayne Lee Douglass (Lora); daughter, Cindy Parker (Greg); grandchildren, Candace Arnold, Jasmine Arnold, Leigh Ann Douglass, Hayden Arnold, Jesse Parker, Hannah Melacon; and two great-grandchildren; brother, David Martin; and twin sisters, Bitty Martin and Mitsy Martin Findley; sister-in-law, Pat Bridges (Carrol); and, brotherin-law, Mark Douglass.
A visitation will be held in the chapel of Gross Funeral Home at 10 a.m. Thursday with funeral service starting at 11 a.m. Burial will immediately follow at Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to Samaritan Ministries of Hot Springs.
Online obituary and guestbook are available at http://www.GrossFuneralHome.com.