Eve Leah McClatchey Saunders, 88, died peacefully at her home in Liberty Hill, Troup County, on Monday, October 14, 2024.

A native Atlantan, Mrs. Saunders was born on September 26, 1936 at Emory Hospital to Dorothy (Methvin) McClatchey, and Devereaux Fore McClatchey III. Mrs. Saunders attended Atlanta public schools, first at Spring Street Elementary, later as a 1954 graduate of (then) Henry Grady High School.

After earning an Associate’s degree at Stephens College for women in Columbia, Missouri, Mrs. Saunders transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1958 with a double major in French and Religion. While at UNC Mrs. Saunders was also a member of the Alpha Sigma chapter of the Delta Delta Delta women’s fraternity. Following graduate studies in religion at Harvard University, Mrs. Saunders spent three years in Geneva, Switzerland, earning a Certificat d’Etudes Françaises at the University of Geneva in 1961, and teaching French to English speakers at the International School there.

Returning to the United States, Mrs. Saunders decided to pursue a career in social work, enrolling at the newly founded school at the University of Georgia, where she earned her M.S.W. in 1966. A UGA football game was also a first date with her future husband of fifty years, John Harvey Saunders, who was a Georgia Ph.D. candidate in History. They married in December 1965. Mrs. Saunders began a career as a social worker in public schools, first in Monroe, Louisiana, then in Huntington, West Virginia, where Dr. Saunders taught at Marshall University.

Her children were born in Huntington and in Jackson, Mississippi, where Dr. Saunders was dean of faculty at Millsaps College. While at Millsaps, Mrs. Saunders co-founded the Millsaps Enrichment program, a pioneering community education program for adults. Mrs. Saunders continued her community work when she moved to Fulton, Missouri as the wife of the president of Westminster College, a small liberal arts college. She was instrumental in reviving the Callaway County Historical Society, and in founding the first historic preservation group in the area, among many other activities.

However, it was as the college’s hostess that Mrs. Saunders came into her own. The college was known for attracting world leaders to speak on campus. At Westminster, Mrs. Saunders entertained three United States presidents, several cabinet secretaries, prime ministers, ambassadors, and important media figures. She was also a prominent fundraiser for the college’s Churchill Memorial, a museum founded to honor Winston Churchill and to mark his “Iron Curtain” speech at the college in 1946. (Now America’s National Churchill Museum.)

Dr. and Mrs. Saunders retired to Georgia in 1992 to be closer to family. They found a house in rural Troup County that became the focal point of their family life as children and grandchildren enriched their lives. However, Mrs. Saunders continued her active volunteer and community involvement work, both in Troup County and Atlanta. She was a board member of several organizations, including Fernbank Museum, Historic Oakland, the LaGrange Symphony Orchestra, the Lafayette Society for the Performing Arts, and several others. She was a proud member of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Alabama, serving on its vestry as secretary.

Mrs. Saunders was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her brother, Devereaux F. McClatchey, IV, and an infant great-grandson. She is survived by her two children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Funeral services will be held on Friday, October 18, 2024, at 3:00 pm EST at the St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Roanoke. The family will receive friends on Thursday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the family home, 733 Liberty Hill Road, LaGrange. Private family interment services will be held at the Historic Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta.

The family requests that charitable donations in Mrs. Saunders’ name be made to WellStar West Georgia Hospice, 1540 Vernon Rd., LaGrange, Ga 30241.