Mrs. Sara Thomson Waikart was a native of Oconee County, and the daughter of the late Dr. Daniel Park Thomson and Clara Livingston Thomson. Her father was a dentist in Seneca.
Mrs. Waikart attended Greenville Women's (now Furman University) and Lander College. From there she moved to Washington, D.C., and enrolled in Felix Mahoney School of Fine and Applied Art. She attended Columbia Technical Institute, where she concentrated on portrait painting with Catherine Critcher, and did ink fashion sketches at the Smithsonian Institute. She met and married her husband, Henry Orton Waikart, in Washington, D.C. Upon the death of her husband, she returned to Seneca in 1950 to live, and it is at that time the lives of Seneconians began to be enriched by her influence. She began to teach art classes and has always placed emphasis on the art work of her students. Many of her students have gone on to achieve recognition in various areas of art, and they give her all the credit for helping them discover and develop their talents. Mrs. Waikart always said that her proudest achievements over the years were in the accomplishments of her many students. Mrs. Waikart was one of six local artists who founded the Blue Ridge Arts Council in 1960, and played an active role in the growth of art appreciation throughout the Upstate. She has been referred to as Oconee's own "Grandma Moses". Mrs. Waikart also worked as a secretary at Seneca High School, and retired in 1970.
She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Harry and Kitty Waikart, of Columbia; and a daughter and son-in-law, Sallie and Don Clement, of Roanoke, Va.; grandchildren, Laura Lee and Glen Doughtery of Lexington, Ky., Harry Thomson Waikart Jr. of Columbia, Mary Ashley Waikart of Charleston, Alan Ashley and Amy Clement of Atlanta, Ga., and Jeremy Christopher Clement of Charleston.
Services for Mrs. Waikart will be conducted by Dr. Robert Dendy and Dr. Charles Docherty at 11 a.m. Thursday at Seneca Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 tonight at Seneca Mortuary Funeral and Cremations.
The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that memorial contributions be made to Blue Ridge Art Association in Mrs. Waikart's name.
Published in The Greenville News: 05-29-2002 Printer friendly version
Donna Sanders (Bradley) (1977)
Mrs. Sara Thomson Waikart was a native of Oconee County, and the daughter of the late Dr. Daniel Park Thomson and Clara Livingston Thomson. Her father was a dentist in Seneca.
Mrs. Waikart attended Greenville Women's (now Furman University) and Lander College. From there she moved to Washington, D.C., and enrolled in Felix Mahoney School of Fine and Applied Art. She attended Columbia Technical Institute, where she concentrated on portrait painting with Catherine Critcher, and did ink fashion sketches at the Smithsonian Institute. She met and married her husband, Henry Orton Waikart, in Washington, D.C. Upon the death of her husband, she returned to Seneca in 1950 to live, and it is at that time the lives of Seneconians began to be enriched by her influence. She began to teach art classes and has always placed emphasis on the art work of her students. Many of her students have gone on to achieve recognition in various areas of art, and they give her all the credit for helping them discover and develop their talents. Mrs. Waikart always said that her proudest achievements over the years were in the accomplishments of her many students. Mrs. Waikart was one of six local artists who founded the Blue Ridge Arts Council in 1960, and played an active role in the growth of art appreciation throughout the Upstate. She has been referred to as Oconee's own "Grandma Moses". Mrs. Waikart also worked as a secretary at Seneca High School, and retired in 1970.
She is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Harry and Kitty Waikart, of Columbia; and a daughter and son-in-law, Sallie and Don Clement, of Roanoke, Va.; grandchildren, Laura Lee and Glen Doughtery of Lexington, Ky., Harry Thomson Waikart Jr. of Columbia, Mary Ashley Waikart of Charleston, Alan Ashley and Amy Clement of Atlanta, Ga., and Jeremy Christopher Clement of Charleston.
Services for Mrs. Waikart will be conducted by Dr. Robert Dendy and Dr. Charles Docherty at 11 a.m. Thursday at Seneca Presbyterian Church. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 tonight at Seneca Mortuary Funeral and Cremations.
The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that memorial contributions be made to Blue Ridge Art Association in Mrs. Waikart's name.
Published in The Greenville News: 05-29-2002
Printer friendly version