Sarah Milligan Hooper
Sarah Milligan Hooper, lifelong resident of Lookout Mountain, passed away on April 1, 2025, at age 99.
She was born on Dec. 26, 1925, to Lila Kirtland Mansfield Milligan and Carnot Guille Milligan and was raised in her maternal grandfather’s summer home which was rebuilt by Isaac C. Mansfield after the house was damaged by fire when the Lookout Inn burned in 1907.
A strong independent lady, Sarah graduated from Lookout Mountain School, Girls’ Preparatory School, and the University of Chattanooga where she was a member of Chi Omega Fraternity. She was most proud of her service as an WWII Army Nurse’s Aide at the U.S. Army Hospital in Memphis, TN caring for wounded combat soldiers. She held positions at the Electric Power Board and at her father’s law firm before meeting and marrying Walter E. Hooper, Jr., a newly practicing attorney in Chattanooga. Walter had received Army JAG recall orders for the Korean War, so they relocated to Alexandria, Va. where their first two children, Walter III and Sunny were born. After the war ended, they returned to Sarah’s beloved mountain in 1955 and had their third child, James Bell Milligan (Jibbie). She volunteered with the Junior League, Fairyland School PTA, and Lookout Mountain School PTA. She was a member of the Woodlands Garden Club, was on the board of The Houston Museum and was a lifelong member of Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church. She worked as a preschool teacher for special needs children at Central Presbyterian Church. She was a pioneer in the Estate Sale / Appraisal / Antique business with her friends, Martha Espy and Barbara Eady as they started Estate Sales, Ltd., the first estate sale company in the Chattanooga area. The successful entrepreneurial company was even featured on the televised series “On the Road with Charles Kuralt.”
A widow for 29 years, she beautifully navigated life with hardly any help. She built a wonderful network of friends on the mountain, most of whom have predeceased her, but with whom she lived life to the fullest. She was an avid gardener, a gourmet cook, wonderful mother, devoted wife, and loyal friend. In 2016, she moved to Thrive at Brow Wood Assisted Living and survived the “pandemic lock down” quarantined in her room for two months with family visiting through the window. She moved to StoryPoint Senior Living in 2023.
She is preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Carnot G. Milligan, Jr. and Fredrick M. Milligan.
She is survived by her children, Walter (Terry) Hooper of Spring City; Sunny (Richard) Wagner of Signal Mountain and J.B. (“Jibbie”) (Sharel) Hooper of Lookout Mountain; her grandchildren, Amy Wagner (Jeff) Mullins; Walter E. (Linda) Hooper IV of Atlanta; Joseph Wagner; Sarah Wagner of Brooklyn, NY; Will (Katie) Hooper of Atlanta; Anne Thomas and Mills Hooper of Lookout Mountain; and her great-grandchildren, Grey, West, Carter, and Warner Mullins; Amelia Hooper and Mia Hooper.
A private grave side service will be held April 4, at National Cemetery with Reverend Frank Hitchings officiating. Visitation will be held on April 4, at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church Jane Harris Youth Building, 301 North Watauga Lane, Lookout Mountain from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, remembrance gifts can be made to Girls Preparatory School or Lookout Mountain Presbyterian Church.
Arrangements are by Wann Funeral & Cremation Center at the foot of historic Lookout Mountain, St. Elmo, 423 821-7551. Share your memories at wannfuneralhome.com.