Sallie Middlebrooks Vetter

Sallie Louisa Middlebrooks Vetter, 75, died Thursday, January 14th at Kingswood Nursing Center in Aberdeen, North Carolina after a lingering illness. Mrs. Vetter was born in Macon, Georgia on July 25, 1934, the daughter of the late Willis Price Middlebrooks and Sara O’Kelly Middlebrooks. After graduating from Peabody High School, in Milledgeville, Georgia, where she was the president of the student government, Mrs. Vetter attended the University of Georgia in Athens where she became a member of Phi Kappa Phi Scholastic Fraternity and president of her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta. Upon graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, she worked in Atlanta as a buyer for Davison’s Department Store, which later became Macy’s. It was in Atlanta that she met Dr. John Stanley Vetter, her late husband of fifty-four years. Dr. Vetter was, at that time, interning at Grady Memorial Hospital. They were married at her church in Haddock, Georgia on January 23, 1955. Mrs. Vetter was a resident of Rockingham since December 1957. While Dr. Vetter practiced medicine and became involved in many civic responsibilities, Mrs. Vetter devoted herself to the two most important things in her life, home and family. She was a strong supporter of all events at L.J. Bell Elementary School, Leak Street School, Rockingham Junior High, Rockingham High School, and Richmond Senior High School. There were very few events that her daughters participated in that Mrs. Vetter did not attend. She joined her husband in becoming members of the First Baptist Church of Rockingham. She participated in her Book Club, her Bridge Club, and with Dr. Vetter, was a member of the Cotillion Club and the German Club. She was a member of The National Society Magna Charta Dames and the Daughters of the American Revolution. Mrs. Vetter is survived by two daughters, Martha Vetter, who has served as a missionary in Rwanda, and Sara Vetter Mayhew and her husband, Dr. Michael Mayhew, of Boone; three grandchildren, Kelly Mayhew Caron and her husband, Nate Caron of Bluffton, South Carolina, John Mayhew of Nashville, Tennessee, and Katherine Mayhew of Boone; and her sister, Lilyan Middlebrooks Hanberry of Macon, Georgia; two nephews and one niece. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 23rd at the First Baptist Church of Rockingham at 3:00 PM. Dr. Jim Nelson will officiate. The family will receive friends in the home beginning Thursday, January 21st. Formal visitation will be at the First Baptist Church one hour prior to the service. The family wishes to thank the staff of Kingswood Nursing Center, the staff of the Richmond County Hospice, and Mrs. Vetter’s caregivers at home: Keysha Cox, Sakina Hamilton, and Angela McNeill. Memorials may be made to the First Baptist Church, 201 N. Randolph Street, Rockingham, N.C. 28379; Richmond County Hospice, 1119 N. US Highway 1, Rockingham, N.C. 28379; or to the charity of your choice.