Sara McGuire Prigmore
Sara McGuire Prigmore was born on July 3, 1931, in Sweetwater, Tennessee, and passed away peacefully on August 13, 2025, in Roan Mountain, Tennessee.
Sara was a precocious little girl and quickly learned to hold her own with two older brothers! A neighbor once asked her mother, “What are you going to do with that sassy little Sara”! Sara was a 1949 graduate of Sweetwater High School, where she was a cheerleader, played basketball and tennis, and voted by classmates as “Most Independent,” Sara later caught the eye of Jim Prigmore, a University of Tennessee undergraduate and she and Jim were married in 1952 following his graduation.
Their life journey began in Chattanooga with Jim’s position with Combustion Engineering and later U.S. Pipe and Foundry. Her daughters, Teresa Ann, born in 1953, and Kay, born in 1955, completed the family. A career move in 1963 took the family to Anniston/Oxford, Al.. Jim and Sara and the girls both formed life-long friendships and created many memories in their years there but U.S. Pipe called Jim and Sara back to Chattanooga in 1974.
For 37 years, Sara and Jim made their home on 17 acres on top of Sand Mountain in Trenton, Ga. There, Sara’s boundless compassion shone brightest as she provided rescue and refuge for countless cats and dogs—offering them the same warmth she gave to family and friends. A faithful member of a Southern Baptist Church wherever she lived, Sara cherished a deep and steadfast faith in her Savior, Jesus Christ.
In 2016, Sara downsized and moved, of all places, back to Anniston! In 2021, she moved to Birmingham, to be closer to Teresa, and in 2024, as her health declined, she relocated to Roan Mountain, Tn., with Kay.
Sara was preceded in death by her husband, Jim (1999), her parents, Dan Heiskell McGuire and Mattie Howard McGuire, and her brothers, Howard McGuire and Joe Frank McGuire.
She is survived by her daughters, Teresa Ann Boody (Wayne) and Kay Prigmore; grandchildren Melissa Sherman (Ryan), Michael Boody (Jessica), and Malinda Nichols (Zack); and five great-grandchildren, Mattie Sherman, Jackson Sherman, Evie Nichols, Dhanya Sri Nichols, and Wyatt Sherman.
The family would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to Kingsport Gentiva Hospice, the staff at The Waters of Roan Highlands Skilled Nursing Center, and to special caregiver, Joy “JoJo” Presnell for their compassionate care.
Services will be held on Saturday, Aug. 30, at Chattanooga Funeral Home, East Ridge, 404 S. Moore Road, East Ridge, Tn. 37412.
Visitation will be at 1 p.m. followed by funeral service at 2 p.m.. Burial will be at Chattanooga Memorial Park, 501 Memorial Drive, Chattanooga, Tn. 37415.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Sara to the Dade County Pet Project via PayPal, Venmo (@dadecountypetproject), cash app or by mail to 610 McKaig Road, Trenton, Ga. 30752. Every dollar collected in her memory will go towards the spay/neuter of homeless cats because that was her passion.
Please share your thoughts and memories of Sara at www.ChattanoogaEastChapel.com
Chattanooga Funeral Home East Chapel, 404 S. Moore Road, East Ridge, Tn., has been entrusted with the arrangements.