Obituary of Sara Machelle Biggers

Chapel Hill, NC: Sara Machelle Biggers, 63, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 4, 2025, at the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) Jim and Betsy Bryan Hospice Home of UNC in Pittsboro, NC. She was born in Chapel Hill, NC, and was the daughter of the late Dr. W. Paul Biggers and Joyce W. Biggers.

Missy, as she was known to family and friends, grew up in Chapel Hill; a true Tar Heel Born & Bred. A passionate, lifelong Carolina fan, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Romance Languages and International Studies and her Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Never one to settle for the bare minimum, Missy also obtained a Master of Law, or LL.M. from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Missy’s legal and international studies led her to a path of employment that encompassed working for the federal government and a global pharmaceutical company, Pharmacia, founded and based in Stockholm, Sweden. Her Tar Heel feet truly enjoyed her Sweden tenure offering opportunities to explore Europe and embrace her passion for travel while achieving her ambitious desire for more knowledge.

To help others further their education, she often served as a guest instructor for the UNC School of Business. Her passion for supporting individuals leverage to higher educational aspirations was evident in Missy’s service with P.E.O. International, an organization with a mission to “help women around the world advance through education.” (see www.peointernational.org ) Missy empowered scholarship candidates through an interview process and offered guidance that solidified promising applications for potential scholarship receipt.   When her health permitted, Missy spent numerous hours volunteering for the Orange County Democratic Party, serving as Treasurer at one juncture.

A side passion of Missy’s involved her love of music. She engaged in many adventures while supporting the Chapel Hill music scene as she guided local musicians on their quest to impact others through music. A life-long, Grammy award-winning friend described her passion as an instrumental force in helping several local artists and shared how much she loved the process of making music.

If Missy was a part of your life, you knew you were blessed abundantly. Though cliché, she meant many different things to many people. In describing Missy, friends and family provided insight into the impactful influence she had on their lives by sharing the following words:

Intelligent, intellectual, compassionate, loyal friend, kind, beautiful inside and out, dear friend, caring, warrior-as-needed, cool, fun, loving, brilliant adventurer, traveler, knowledge seeker, a whirlwind, metal head, scientific, witty, adventurous, music enthusiast.

Left to cherish Missy’s memory are numerous friends and her family. She will be dearly missed by her brother, Bill Biggers (Gretchen Gochenauer), step-niece, Anna Burchfield, nephews Tanner Biggers (Kate Kovats), Trent Biggers (Courtney Benson) and her sister, Joy B. Walker (Thomas); nephew Dusty Walker (Alayna); niece Chelsea Newcomer (Nick), and great-niece Lacey M. Walker.

A private graveside service was held on Monday, January 13, 2025, with interment at the Chapel Hill Memorial Cemetery.