Sara J. Eby

Sara J. Eby, 92, of Bethany Village, Lower Allen Twp. died Saturday, January 9, 2021 at Bethany Village. She was the loving wife of the late Richard Y. (Dick) Eby for over 61 years and the loving mother of 3 children, James R. (Jim) Eby (Aghiles [Ari] Amer Yahia), John M. Eby (Bonnie Newhouse), and Anne E. Eby (Arthur Kravitz).

She was born to the late Frederick and Marguerite (Decker) Jones in West Reading, PA. The family moved to Mt. Gretna, PA where spending summers at Conewago Lake developed her lifetime enjoyment of swimming and relaxing on a beach.

Upon the death of Frederick Jones during Sara’s early teens, she, her mother and her sister, the late Susan Jones Kelchner, moved to Palmyra, PA. Sara graduated from Palmyra High School and later met husband Dick after he returned to Palmyra from serving with the U.S. Army in Europe during WW II. They were married in 1951, built a modest home, and joined the baby boom era with 3 children.

Dick’s career with Harsco Corp. was a reason for the family to move to Wormleysburg, PA in 1967. Shortly thereafter, Sara began her advanced education by earning an associate degree from Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) followed by a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in humanities from Penn State Harrisburg (a/k/a Capital Campus) while keeping track of 3 teenage children and helping to manage a household. Sara became an instructor at both HACC and PSU, where she was teaching technical writing to engineering and criminal justice undergraduates at the time of her retirement.

Sara was a voracious reader who also enjoyed fine dining, Jeopardy!, playing pinochle and watching baseball (go Phillies!) on TV. Although never a golfer, she and Dick regularly attended the LKO tournament in Hershey, took their grandchildren mini-golfing, and watched golf on TV.

Sara was an exceptional grandparent who rarely missed a sporting event, concert or birthday. She became a grandmother to her grandchildren-in-law with her loving spirit, generosity and kindness. In her later years a simple visit from the grandkids and great grandkids would light up her face, and she cherished every moment together.

Sara was a private person who did not belong to civic, social or religious organizations, but as a well informed and independent thinker, she could discuss almost any topic with confidence. When she had to transition from independent living to assisted and skilled care, the dedicated and caring staff of Bethany Village became her new family.

In addition to her 3 children, Sara is survived by grandson Justin M. Eby (Alissa), granddaughter Kaitlyn M. Mellott (Brian a/k/a Bubby), four great grandchildren (Isaac and Sophie Eby, Jessica and Matthew Mellott), as well as nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews.

Private interment will take place in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, East Hanover Twp.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are requested to the HACC Foundation Scholarship Fund (HACCScholarships@HACC.edu) because of her passion for education, or to Lower Allen Township EMS (2233 Gettysburg Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011 or www.latwp.org) due to the caring and compassion displayed by their first responders that went above and beyond ordinary EMS service.