Sarah Atwood Obituary

Sarah Dillon Atwood died Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, at her home in Greensboro. Her mind was sharp to the end, and until the final hour she remained cognizant of her lifetime's commitment to the welfare of the world's creatures. Sally was born in Elkin on Nov. 26, 1949, to Henry Edward and Nancy Click Dillon. Hers was a childhood of horseback rides, rabbit sanctuaries, wildlife rehabilitation, and pockets full of caterpillars. Her fondest memories were of the special bond that she had with her father, for whom she held the greatest esteem. Sally attended St. Catherine's School in Richmond, and remained committed to the importance of her preparatory education. She attended Converse College and then the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she developed a group of eclectic and irreverent friendships about which she would speak fondly for the rest of her life. She did her graduate work in interior design at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Sally hailed from an artistic lineage, and she added to it a love of architecture, drafting, and design. She began her career in Greensboro as a producer of multimedia presentations in the days when visual delivery required hundreds of individual transparent slides and a shuffling projector. Her work brought her artistic satisfaction, as well as her husband of 40 years, Wayne Atwood. Together they had a son, and Sally spent the following years devoted to his education. She was a Cub Scout leader, active in the Boy Scouts, and brought an artistic eye to numerous school projects. When her son followed the preparatory school tradition, Sally was left to rekindle her affection for the living world. She chaired the Fisher Park Committee, and managed the upkeep and preservation of the local flora and of the surrounding architecture. Hundreds of young trees owe their existence to the grants she procured. Sally found her calling in the service of stray cats of the North Carolina Piedmont. For 20 years, she worked with a nonprofit to spay and neuter 80 cats a month. She re-homed hundreds of these cats, sponsored numerous surgeries for otherwise hopeless conditions, and organized the transportation of cats-in-need up and down the East Coast in search of homes. She delighted in teaching volunteers how to trap, how to prepare cats for their day of surgery, and how to coordinate the most successful spay and neuter clinic in North Carolina. On a Friday night, Sally could be found with a couple of friends, hunched behind a bush with their radio frequency trigger in hand, waiting for the most promiscuous cats to wander into their trap. There are thousands of healthy cats that owe their prosperity to Sally. There are thousands more that never ended up in shelters or euthanized because of her commitment to more progressive spay and neuter practices. Sally is survived by her son, Dillon of Greensboro; his father, Wayne, of Greensboro; and her three brothers, Robert G. Dillon of Atlanta, Wynne C. Dillon of Litchfield, and Henry E. Dillon Jr. of Raleigh. A graveside service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, conducted by Pastor Arlo at Hollywood Cemetery in Elkin. In lieu of flowers, any memorials may be made to the Feral Cat Assistance Program in Greensboro. Online condolences may be made at wwwjkennedyfsl.com John Kennedy, funeral director is assisting the Atwood Family with funeral arrangements.