Obituary of Sandra Marie Hagler

Sandra Marie Hagler, age 73, woke up in the arms of Jesus on Thursday, September 2 in Boone, North Carolina. Sandra was born a twin to parents Robert and Katherine Wilson Hagler on May 21, 1948 in Bristol, Tennessee. She attended Watauga Consolidated School and was in the first integrated classes at Watauga High School in 1965. Sandra left school and served in the Job Corp where she developed her love of nursing. Sandy, as she was affectionately known, received her BS in Nursing from Winston Salem State University. She worked as a Registered Nurse for many years. She began her career at Watauga Hospital, also making a lasting impact as one of the best in the profession. She nursed at Glen Bridge Nursing Home and at Health Services at Appalachian State University before retiring from the Watauga County Health Department in 2010 to help care for her twin sister, Louise. She was a member of the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church. She was a member of the choir and was a strong soloist on some of the Choir's most beloved selections. Sandy founded the women's missionary group, "The Lydia Society" which championed community improvement, involvement and assistance of community members. Sandy was an icon for the Junaluska Community. She was an avid historian and a founding member of the Junaluska Heritage Association. Because of her love for history she created documentation of the Boone Community and has been named a very reliable source. In recognition of this hard work and dedication, Sandy was named High Country Woman of the Year in 2013 for preserving Mountain Heritage. Sandy was a writer and an artist, giving away her beautiful artwork and sharing her talents with the younger generations. Sandy enjoyed quilting, needle work, and crocheting, just to name a few. She instilled in her young nieces and nephews the importance of art, beauty and creativity in their worlds. Sandy was an excellent cook and baker. For many years, Sandy provided meals for the sick, the shut in and the elderly in the Junaluska Community. She referred to her ministry as "Meals on the Hill". She would send out plates to make sure community members had at least one hot meal a day. Everyone that walked through her little kitchen doors knew Sandy was all about helping and providing for the people around her. Sandy's home became a place of refuge for those without the means of caring for themselves. Many of her grandson's friends were welcomed into her home. They grew to care and respect her as their own grandmother. She treated them with love and kindness. Sandy exemplified the scripture 1 John 3:18, "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." Sandy is preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Katherine Wilson Hagler, infant sister, Nellie Corleen, brother, John Lee, her grandmother, Zula Caldwell and a special aunt, Nell Ray. Sandra leaves to mourn her loving daughter, Catherine Hagler Tester and husband Casey and her beloved grandchildren, Benjamin Hagler and Olivia Hagler-Tester of Cove Creek, NC. Three sisters Roberta Jackson of Boone, NC, her much adored twin Andrea Louise Goins, of Kings Mountain, NC; Mary Horton Denny of Franklinton, NC and one brother Anthony Hagler of Boone, NC. Sandy is also survived by a host of nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, cousins, family and friends. Graveside services for Ms. Sandra Hagler will be conducted Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 2 PM at Clarissa Hill Cemetery in Boone, NC. Officiating will be Rev. Mike Mathes of the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church. Online condolences may be shared with the Hagler family at www.austinandbarnesfuneralhome.com. Austin & Barnes Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Hagler family.