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Mary Alyce Carter Sanders, age 94, of Goshen, AL died Saturday, May 4, 2024 surrounded by her family. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 2:00 pm from Goshen Baptist Church with the Reverend Buddy Hood officiating. Interment will follow in Hillcrest Cemetery in Goshen, AL with Dillard Funeral Home of Troy directing. Mrs. Sanders will lie in state one hour prior to the service at the church.

She is survived by her sons, David Randolph Sanders of Alpharetta, GA, Carter J. Sanders of Goshen, AL, Michael Ray Sanders (Nancy) of Goshen, AL, Kirby Lee Sanders of Sarasota, FL; grandchildren, Melissa Sanders Richburg (Shaun) of Goshen, AL, Mary Beth Sanders Wilkerson (Jeff) of Troy, AL, Julie Sanders Salter (Blake) of Eufaula, AL, Jamie Sanders Brown (Ethan) of Troy, AL; great-grandchildren, Addison Shelby Richburg, Avery Sanders Richburg, Karson Ryder Wilkerson, Kynslee Malone Wilkerson, Savannah James Salter, Sanders Blake Salter, Ellie Jane Brown, Jackson Riley Brown, James Trent Brown; her in-laws, Louise Richburg Sanders, Oscar Sanders (Patsy), Aline Garrett, Bessie Lou Grissette (James), Sara Taylor (Larry), Carrie Sanders, Betty Ann Phillips (Cephus), Ned Sanders (Nancy), Ted Sanders, Elaine Wells; numerous nieces, nephews and a host of other relatives.

Mrs. Sanders was preceded in death by her husband, J.R. Sanders; parents, Asa and Lilly Ethel Carter; siblings, Nell Carter Armstrong, Sarah Carter Jones, Seaborn Carter, Annie Laurie Shaver, George Carter and Melton Carter.

Mary Alyce was born during the Great Depression on her mother’s birthday as the baby of seven children. Her early education began in the one-room Palmyra schoolhouse with classes in Hephzibah and Goshen before graduating high school in 1948 from Troy High School. Her early work experiences included being a switchboard operator at Southern Bell in downtown Troy. Her friends, Dot and Raymond Hill, set her up on a blind date with Raymond’s cousin, “J.R.” The matchmaking worked, and the two were married on July 31st, 1953. They shared many happy years celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary shortly before J.R. fell victim to a fatal farm accident in 2005.

Early into her marriage, she learned what being a farmer’s wife entailed. At one time, they built a layer house – she graded, crated, and delivered eggs, all while raising four boys under the age of six. J.R. called upon her often to run errands, pick up parts and supplies, or drive trucks pulling peanut wagons; yet she always found time to prepare family meals. Always busy with family, household, and farm chores, as a couple, they found time to spend together as avid square dancers with the Trojan Squares. In the 1970s, as women began taking more active political roles, she entered and won a seat with the Pike County School Board and served for twenty years in various capacities, including President. She was a dedicated board member and often visited all the campuses and in due time was honored with an All-State School Board Award. She was faithful in serving her family, friends, and the Goshen Baptist Church. She loved missions and was a member of WMU for many years. She had a strong faith instilled in her from a young age, having grown up as a pastor’s daughter. Mary Alyce was interested in genealogy and history. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a founding member of the Captain Thomas Carter Sr., Chapter of the Daughters of America Colonists and an advisor for the Children of the American Colonists with her four granddaughters.

Mary Alyce loved traveling near and far. She traveled extensively across the United States and into Canada. Mexico and even Ecuador. This time spent together with family and friends gave her great pleasure. Her love for travel instilled a lasting legacy to travel in all of her family.

To her family and almost everyone else, she was lovingly known as Grandma. If you were to have asked her the secret to her beauty and longevity, she would have quickly said, “It’s my good genes and Mary Kay!” She was extremely proud of her four boys, and daughter-in-law, but her four granddaughters kept her young. She was even more blessed to have welcomed all nine of her great-grandchildren ensuring her memory in the next generation.

The family would like to offer a special thank you to her caregivers, Barbara Boggon, Samantha Smith, Cindy Parker, Stephanie Parker, Sherry Key,  Southern Comfort Home Health and Compassus Hospice.

Pallbearers will be David Randolph Sanders, Carter J. Sanders, Michael Ray Sanders, Kirby Lee Sanders, Shaun Richburg, Jeff Wilkerson, Blake Salter and Ethan Brown.

Flowers will be accepted or memorials may be made to the Goshen Baptist Church or your favorite charity.