Sara E. ("Betty") Gower

Sara E. (“Betty”) Gower, age 81 passed away peacefully at home on December 3, 2023 after a very recent diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Betty was born in Atlanta, and for all of her 81 years she was a lover of all things Atlanta: Coke, the Braves, the Falcons, the Varsity, Manuels Tavern, Mary Mac’s Tea Room, the former downtown Rich’s department store, etc. She attended Samuel Inman elementary school and Grady High School, and she was a loyal supporter of both schools, especially the Grady football team, where for several decades she was a fixture at the home games enthusiastically cheering on the team.  On March 5, 1965 she married Preston Morris Gower of Buford, Ga., and consequently Buford football gained a loyal supporter.  She also was a fan of UGA football. And, though he wasn’t from Atlanta, she loved all things Elvis, whose surrogate serenaded her on her 80^th birthday.

When her sons Jeff and Jason went to school, she began working at Samuel Inman (then an elementary school and later a middle school), where she collected students’ lunch money.  For over 30 years, she was known to generations of Inman students, staff and faculty for her smile, her warm greetings and her reputation for never letting a child go hungry for lack of lunch money.  When she retired, Betty’s lifetime contributions were honored with a memorial naming of the school cafeteria as Gower Galley.

Betty was well known to Virginia-Highland neighbors for her over-the-top holiday decorations and her cheerful greetings to passers-by when she was sitting on her front porch.  She was especially fond of greeting parents – and bestowing treats upon their children – in the afternoons as they walked home from the school bus.

Betty Gower is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, Jeff and Pam Gower; her grandchildren: Cortney Porter (Payton), Katlyn Gower, and Jason Gower; her three great grandsons Declan Porter, Rylan Porter, and Preston Porter; her sister Harrilee Underwood (Norman); and her Buford family David Gower (Gayle), Eddie Gower (Sula) and their children and grandchildren. She also will be greatly missed by many, especially a host of like-family individuals including the families of Lynn and Elwood Brown of Newnan; her god-daughter Beth Hamilton of Buford; her surrogate son, Gary Newton; her good friends Peggy Kelly Pittman and Linda Lunsford; and countless other loyal friends and caregivers. She was predeceased by her husband, Preston Gower and her son Jason Gower. 

Visitation with the family will take place on Saturday, December 16 from 12:00 – 2:00 at Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel & Gardens, 3481 Hamilton Mill Rd, Buford, Ga. 30519, followed by the funeral service at 2:00 and a procession to her final resting place beside her beloved husband and son at Broadlawn Memorial Cemetery in Buford, Ga.

Donations can be made to the Atlanta Community Food Bank by visiting www.acfb.org or by mail to 3400 N Desert Dr, East Point, GA 30344.

Hamilton Mill Memorial Chapel 770-945-6924

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