Mrs. Sara Halsell Jenkins

Sara Halsell Jenkins, 80, passed away on Saturday, August 07, 2021, at her home in Jackson, Mississippi. Visitation will be Friday, August 13, 2021, from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. at Chancellor Funeral Home in Byram, Mississippi, and again Saturday, August 14, 2021, from 9:00 a.m. until the hour of the service at 10:00 a.m. Interment will follow at Lakewood South Memorial Park in Jackson, MS. The family requests that masks are worn and social distancing observed during visitation and service. A livestream of the service will be available for viewing on the Chancellor Funeral Home Facebook page. Sara was born on May 07, 1941, to James Boyce Halsell and Marvell Wilson Halsell in Jackson, Mississippi. Due to a tragic accident that took her father's life and left her mother crippled, Sara had to take on the full responsibility of an adult at the age of ten. She was a strong person and a devout Christian. She was a member of the Church of God of Prophecy and was actively involved at Trinity Wesleyan Church and Oak Forest Baptist Church. Sara was an excellent student, graduating from Forest Hill High School in 1959 and Hinds Junior College in 1961 as the valedictorian of both graduating classes. She graduated from Mississippi College in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in English and French. Sara then obtained her master's degree in French from the University of Alabama, where she was awarded a fellowship. She began teaching English at Hinds Junior College, now Hinds Community College, where she taught for nearly forty years. Sara loved her family and supported her children in everything they did, especially in their music careers. She served as the Gold Cup Chairman of the Mississippi Division of the National Federation of Music Clubs and as a counselor for the Junior MacDowell Music Club in Jackson. She especially enjoyed traveling with her husband, Benny. Sara led by a quiet example, never having to be the loudest in the room. Mrs. Jenkins was a cat-lover who had many cats throughout the years. It was said that there was never a time in her life that she didn't have a cat. Along with her parents, she is preceded in death by her older sister, Bettie Lillie Halsell, who died at two months. She is survived by her husband of 53 years, Benny Jenkins of Jackson; son, James (Anita) Jenkins of Jackson; daughter, Brenda (Steven) Szelmeczki of Ackerman; grandchildren, Isaac, Isabella, Abigail, and Andrew Jenkins and Madeline, Owen, Stuart, and Zachary Szelmeczki.