Sarah Kathryn Moore Fauntroy was born on March 25, 1939, the eldest of three children born to Eugene Edgar and Cynthia Alston Moore in Alamance County, North Carolina. She lived a life of perseverance, persistence, and achievement.

She spent several years of her childhood in New Britain, Connecticut, where her family moved for economic opportunity. There she excelled at the Camp School, where she showed great academic potential and achievement. Her family returned to Burlington just before she began high school. She graduated from Jordan Sellars High School in 1957, where she earned a reputation as a top student and basketball player. She worked in Burlington after high school trying to raise money for college and build a life for herself.

Two years after graduating high school, she moved to Washington, DC in search of better opportunities. She worked as a secretary at the Agency for International Development and the Department of Labor. While in DC, she met Kenneth Vine Fauntroy, whom she married in July of 1963. From their union were their sons, Michael Kenneth and Kevin Scott.

She never relinquished her interest in attending college so in 1972, at the age of 32 and while also a wife and mother of two little boys, she began studies at Federal City College. Over the ensuing years, she often did her homework next to her sons. After years of part-time study, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree from the newly formed University of the District of Columbia. She continued her studies at the University of Maryland, where she earned a second Master of Arts degree.

While in school and afterwards, Sarah built a 25-year career as a reference librarian at Howard University. There she specialized in African American studies and history, helping students, faculty, and outside scholars identify appropriate research sources and tools. She wrote bibliographies in those and other subjects that were used by countless researchers. She was known for her congeniality and commitment to truth and service.

Throughout these same years, she pursued her love of art, producing several oil paintings and charcoal sketches that she displayed throughout the family home. She frequented art galleries in search of inspiration for her own work and loved to watch art programming on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Sarah was also a great cook in a home that often served as a hub for her sons’ friends, many of whom ate frequently at the house.

Her husband, Kenneth V. Fauntroy and her sister, Shirlee Moore Middleton, preceded her in death. She is survived by her brother Edgar F. Moore sons, Michael (Lisa) and Kevin (Dionne) and five grandchildren: Lauryn Elise, Mia Camille, Danielle Nichole, Logan Antoinette, and Brett Michael. She was a beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend.