Sarah S. Ponder, 96, dedicated to family, city organizations

SARAH S. PONDER, 96, an accountant, financial secretary, and longtime South Philadelphian known as "Sissy" or "Sis" to family members, died Saturday, May 7, at Good Shepherd Penn Partners at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mrs. Ponder was born on Sept. 21, 1919, in Hopewell, Va., to James and Anna Belle Smith. Her family moved to Philadelphia when she was an infant, and she attended public schools, graduating from South Philadelphia High School in 1936.

She then took accounting classes at Temple University before joining the staff of Union Baptist Church in 1938. She worked there as a financial secretary for 18 years, and married her husband, George Ponder Jr., there in 1974. He died in 1976.

Mrs. Ponder did accounting and financial work for several city organizations. She first worked for the NAACP, and then for the Philadelphia Independent, an African American weekly tabloid newspaper published from 1931 to 1971.

She worked at the Southwest Belmont YWCA, serving on its board of directors during the 1980s. She also worked in the city Department of Health for 19 years starting in the 1970s.

"Her father was a very big advocate for that kind of stuff," said Kelli Richards, one of Mrs. Ponder's great-nieces. "He gave her the foundation for that."

Mrs. Ponder was interested in politics, sports, and current news. Another great-niece, Stephanie Richards-Lawrence, said this thirst for knowledge made her unbeatable in Jeopardy!

"She just would always get the answer right, when we sat there [watching] as a family," said Richards-Lawrence. "She intentionally read through the newspapers from cover to cover every day to keep herself sharp and up to date."

Even as she spent her last couple of weeks at HUP, family members said, she wanted to stay informed about local and national politics, and would request that CNN and other news stations be turned on in her room.

Richards-Lawrence added that Mrs. Ponder also enjoyed playing the piano - especially hymns, including her favorite, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

"She was an absolute rock for the family," Richards-Lawrence said. "She was just the foundation and matriarch."

"She had a listening ear," Richards-Lawrence added. "She was never judgmental and didn't care what the topic was . . . She felt it was important to be close to her family.

"There wasn't anything, in my eyes, she wouldn't do," she said. "She would tile a bathroom, maintain her car . . . She was just independent. When she was young, she told me, she wanted to be a career woman."

In addition to her great-nieces, Mrs. Ponder is survived by a brother, James E. Smith Jr.; two grandchildren; and other nieces and nephews.

A viewing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Friday, May 13, at Union Baptist Church, 1910 Fitzwater St., followed by services at 10:30. Interment will be at Rolling Green Memorial Park, West Chester.

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