Sarah Clement was born near the town of Mocksville, Davie County, North Carolina on April 5, 1894. She attended local rural schools until coming to East Carolina in the fall of 1913. Clement graduated with a two-year normal degree in 1915, continuing her education through coursework at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Asheville Normal School and Teachers College.
Clement began her distinguished teaching career in 1920 at Oxford, North Carolina. There she taught third grade at C.G. Credle Elementary School. She took particular interest in aiding underprivileged children and the elderly. She was renowned in her community for her generous spirit through her numerous donations of food, medicine, and clothing to organizations and churches. Clement regularly delivered flowers and candy to the ill and donated time and the use of her automobile to assist the elderly with appointments and shopping.
An active member of society, she was a member of the North Carolina Educators Association, the National Education Association, the Classroom Teachers Association, the Oxford United Methodist Church, the Woman’s Society of Christian Service, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Oxford Women’s Club. Clement also regularly taught Sunday School courses where her dedicated service earned her a lifetime membership in the Woman’s Society of Christian Service.
Upon her death, Clement divided her estate in bequests which benefited East Carolina University, Greensboro College, the United Methodist Church in Mocksville, the Oxford Orphanage, and the Methodist Retirement Home of Durham. She also established a trust fund for the maintenance of her family cemetery.
On June 11, 1972, East Carolina Chancellor Dr. Leo W. Jenkins dedicated one of the new ten-story campus residence halls as the Sarah E. Clement Residence Hall. Robert Morgan, serving at that time as chair of the ECU Board of Trustees unveiled a portrait which still hangs in the lobby. A student loan fund was also established in her honor.
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Citation Information
Title: Sarah E. Clement
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 6/25/2019