Sarah Elizabeth Dundas

Sarah Elizabeth Dundas, 78, of Floresville, passed peacefully into everlasting freedom with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on August 10, 2025. Born in 1947 in Crystal City, TX, to Jim Tom and Mattie Laura (née Umphres) Hester, Sarah was the treasured daughter among three rowdy and rambunctious brothers. Closer in age to her brothers Steve and Tom, Sarah helped care for her much younger (and cuter) brother James. As Jim Tom was a seed salesman, the Hester family loved rural living and Sarah often told entertaining tales of small town life.

As a young adult, Sarah began a bachelor’s program at the University of Texas at Austin and later in life, after her first marriage ended in divorce, she finished her degree in elementary education from the University of Texas at San Antonio. As a mature adult, Sarah excelled in her classes and made the Dean’s List. Sarah made long-lasting friendships among her fellow future teachers and they supported one another as they entered the classroom. She was thrilled to teach third grade at Walzem Elementary and afterward fifth grade at Northern Hills Elementary, both in San Antonio’s Northeast ISD. Math and science were her favorite subjects to teach, although she thrilled her students every year while reading to them from the “Hank the Cowdog” book series.

During her first marriage, Sarah gave birth to two daughters. Merideth Jo was born in 1973 and Laura Beth in 1976. Following a divorce 1984, Sarah moved herself and her daughters to a new home and started a new chapter of her life. She poured herself into sewing curtains from sheets and decorating their home, making the most out of her teacher’s salary. She sewed beautiful Sunday dresses for her girls as well as perfectly tailored outfits for them to wear to school. Her parents and brothers with their extended families were always close, celebrating holidays together throughout the years. When generous neighbors invited Sarah to church, she accepted. She found Madison Hills Baptist Church (MHBC) to be a welcoming, friendly community of believers. Sarah chose to be baptized not long afterward.

In September 1990, Sarah received a letter in the mail from a fellow MHBC member, a man named Darrel Dundas. He wanted to know if she was interested in getting to know him. While the letter was quite unexpected, Sarah decided it was indeed quite wonderful. Sarah and Darrel’s whirlwind courtship concluded with a beautiful midnight wedding ceremony on Christmas Eve of 1990, just a few months after that letter arrived in her mailbox. Despite an 11-year age difference, Sarah thought Darrel was a perfect gentleman with a talent for playing the acoustic guitar and a velvet tenor voice to match. She knew the Lord had sent him to be her own knight in shining armor. The couple loved to travel, sing in the church choir, and participate with friends in church activities. She accompanied Darrel to prepare and gather residents for worship services he led for multiple nursing homes. Around the year 2000, they decided to move out of the city to the quiet and scenic countryside of Floresville. First Baptist became their new church home and they found friends instantly in the choir and their Sunday school class. Their two-story home with wraparound porch surrounded by five wooded acres was their pride and joy!

A skilled seamstress who learned the craft from her mother, Sarah sewed stunning formal dresses for her daughters, including a hand-beaded wedding gown for her daughter Laura. Sarah also created nursery bedding and made precious clothes for her granddaughter. She later took an interest in quilting. She and her quilting friends enjoyed quilting retreats where work was completed but laughter and good food were the main event. Sarah carefully and lovingly crafted quilts for her children and grandchildren, and purchased a long-arm quilter that took up more than half of their home’s hobby room.

Darrel and Sarah made numerous trips to visit their children and grandchildren, to Tennessee, Florida, Washington State, and Maryland. Sarah loved to make memories with her grandchildren in every place they lived. She was a proud Texas Aggie mom, despite her family’s affiliation for the university in Austin.

Sarah is survived by her beloved husband Wallace Darrel Dundas, brothers Thomas, Stephen, and James Hester, along with their dear wives, Lynda, Nancy and Monica, daughter Merideth Thompson, PhD, her husband JL Needham, daughter Laura Beth Siegel and her husband Peter, granddaughter Jamie Lynne Siegel, and grandsons John Ferguson III and Ian Ferguson. Other survivors include stepdaughter Darla Hightower and her husband Tim, as well as stepson Kenneth Dundas. Sarah’s step-grandchildren are Dallas Hightower and Dylan Hightower.

A celebration of Sarah’s life will take place at 10:30 am on Wednesday, August 20 at the Floresville First Baptist Church. Visitation begins at 9:30 am. Burial at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery is scheduled in the afternoon.

To honor Sarah’s vibrant personality and friendly smile, her family requests attendees wear bright, bold colors to the visitation and Sarah’s celebration of life.