Sarah Swift Harrison Voyles

Sarah Swift Harrison Voyles, 90, died Monday, June 20, 2022, unexpectedly, yet peacefully, in her home in Houston. A memorial service will be held Sunday, June 26, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (515 Columbus Ave., Waco). All are invited to the reception after the service. Visitation will be Saturday, June 25, from 4:00-6:00 p.m. at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home. Private burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery. Sarah was born September 8, 1931, in Cameron, Texas, to Frances Brown Dossett Swift and Stanley Hill Swift. She attended school in Cameron until her father joined the Naval Reserve as a Lieutenant in 1942. They lived in several cities including Cambridge, Massachusetts, New York City, and Seattle, Washington, as he prepared for his assignment in the Panama Canal. When he shipped out, Sarah, her mother, and her brother moved to Waco to live with her cousins at 1503 Columbus until the men returned home. She attended All Saints School in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia, and graduated from the University of Texas in 1953. On June 3, 1954, Sarah married Morse Harrison, a fellow Episcopalian and began her married life back in Waco. They enjoyed 39 years of marriage before his untimely death in 1994. Her family, her church, and her community were her focus. She was a tireless volunteer, both in the community and the Episcopal Church. She especially enjoyed her many years of service as the head of ushers at St. Paul’s. She was also involved with the Junior League of Waco, the United Way, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, the revival of the Cotton Palace Pageant, Pi Beta Phi sorority, the National Society of Colonial Dames of America, the Waco Symphony Council, the Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children, as well as her daughters’ schools. After her daughters left home, she worked at the Moody Library at Baylor University for 25 years where she made many friends. Sarah was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Eddins Morse Harrison; her brother, Stanley Hill Swift, Jr.; and her second husband, Richard Arlen Voyles. She is survived by her children Frances and Randy Pool, of Waco, Harriet and Whitney Leavell, of Houston, and Carter and Danny Jackson, of Allen; her beloved grandchildren, Walton Harrison Leavell and wife, Giulia, Sarah Brooks Leavell, and Clayton Morse Jackson; and her sister-in-law, Cynthia Swift and her children, Hill and Mary Swift, Elizabeth Swift Copeland, and Morgan Copeland and their families. She will be missed by her large and loving extended family. Memorials may be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 601 Columbus Ave. Waco, TX 76701 or The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children, 3312 Hillcrest Drive, Waco, TX 76708.