Former math teacher Sarah Helton, who joined Ravenscroft in 1970 and continued to instruct and inspire students until her retirement in 1990, passed away on Feb. 2, 2022. She was 90 years old.

The eldest of four children, Sarah was born in Mars Hill, North Carolina, where she spent her youth on her family’s dairy farm. She earned a master’s degree in mathematics from Vanderbilt University in 1953 and came to Ravenscroft in 1970 just as the North Raleigh campus was beginning to take shape.

She returned to live in the North Carolina mountains following her retirement but moved back to Raleigh in 2012 to be closer to family.

Her obituary reads in part, “Educated and intelligent, Sarah was the true definition of humility. The simplest pleasures in life brought great joy to Sarah. She loved to watch golf but never played. In her retirement, she enjoyed sitting peacefully on her front porch, enjoying the stunning mountain views, enthusiastically counting the number of cars that passed (statistically determining that white is the most popular), and there wasn’t a crossword puzzle she couldn’t solve.”

Sarah was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Franklin Anderson. She is survived by her sisters, Carolyn Gore and Frances Woosley; her children, Rhonda Terry and Steven Helton, and their families; and a host of close friends, former students and “anyone lucky enough to have spent just an afternoon with her.”

Private services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Mars Hill University in Sarah Helton’s memory.