Sarah Belle Pugh

Sarah Belle Pugh, lovingly known to nearly everyone as “Sally,” was born on November 29, 1928, in Glencoe, Oklahoma, to Earnest N. and Minnie “Marie” Marler. She grew up on Oklahoma farms during the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, experiences that shaped her resilience, faith, and lifelong gratitude. Her parents worked hard, traded shrewdly, and made a warm and loving home filled with good food, gardens, and the steady rhythm of farm life.

As a child, Sarah was spunky, determined, and happiest outdoors. She learned to milk cows at a very young age, followed her father and brother to the barn, and wanted to be wherever the work or excitement was. She loved to help in the fields and even picked cotton alongside the workers, who once made up a song about “that baby picking cotton.” Though she survived many serious childhood illnesses, including appendicitis and polio, and even a brain tumor later in her 20’s, she faced each challenge with grit and courage and went on to live a full and generous life.

Sarah excelled in school, enjoying track and developing the baking and cooking skills she would later be loved for throughout her community. Her pie crusts and homemade hot rolls became locally famous, often sought after for school and community fundraisers.

Sarah met and married the love of her life, Richard Pugh before he left for military service. While he was stationed in the Philippines, Sarah welcomed their first child. After his discharge, they used the GI Bill to further Richard’s training, eventually settling in Nowata, where they built their family home. Together Richard and “Sally,” as he lovingly nicknamed her, raised their 4 children, Judy, Shirley, Justin, and Richard, with love, discipline, laughter, faith, fishing, and plenty of home-cooked meals.

Sally devoted her life to caring for others. She worked in many roles of service throughout her life: babysitting many Nowata children, school lunchroom monitor and cook, Osage nursing home cook, and later a dietitian at the Hayes House. She poured herself into every task with kindness and a sense of mission.

Her greatest devotion was to her faith and her family. After joining Hillside Christian Church, she served faithfully for decades as a Sunday school teacher, Children’s Hour helper, camp cook, and tireless volunteer. She taught, cooked, visited, transported friends to church, and loved her Joy Class in later years. Church, God, and Jesus always came first in her life.

Sally was also known for her joy in simple pleasures: fishing (often twice a day in retirement), Cardinals baseball games, traveling to watch children and grandchildren’s sports, and cheering from the stands wrapped in blankets during cold football nights. She never missed a chance to support her family—attending games, graduations, weddings, and every milestone she could. She was famous for her birthday cards, phone calls, Christmas gatherings, rice krispie treats, and a place for the neighborhood kids to play.

Above all, she will be remembered as “Grandma Sally”—loving, playful, faithful, steady, and endlessly giving. She dedicated her life to God, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, always offering them the best of her time, energy, and love.

She was preceded in death by her parents Earnest and Minnie “Marie” Marler; her husband Richard Pugh; siblings George Marler and Mary Ann Cranor; son-in-law Louis Linville; son-in-law Mark Campbell; and grandson Darren Linville.

Sarah Belle “Sally” is survived by:

• her sister, Vivian Billbe of Oglesby, Oklahoma

and her loving children:

• Judy Louise Linville of Nowata

• Shirley Marie Campbell of Claremore

• Earnest Justin Pugh and wife Donna of Nowata

• Richard Henry Pugh Jr. and wife Becky of Nowata

She is also survived by 24 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren, each of whom was a blessing she treasured and prayed for.

Sarah Belle lived a long life marked by faith, resilience, gratitude, and love. She leaves behind a legacy of prayer, strength, humor, and fishing stories that will be told for generations. She will be deeply missed and forever cherished. Visitation for Sarah Pugh will be held Friday, January 2, 2026, from 5:00-7:00 PM at the Benjamin Funeral Chapel at Benjmain Funeral Home 114 W. Cherokee St., Nowata, Oklahoma

Graveside services will be held by Benjamin Funeral Home at Nowata Memorial Cemetery Saturday, January 3, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. Online condolences can be left at www.honoringmemoriesnowata.com or the Benjamin Funeral Home Facebook page. Arrangements are under the direction of the Benjamin Funeral Service, 114 W Cherokee Ave., Nowata.