On Friday, July 25, 2025, Sarah Thomas Kadec of Botetourt County passed away at the age of 92 years. She was born in Winchester, Va., daughter of Lemuel and Mary (Switzer) Thomas. She graduated from Fincastle High School in 1949, received her B.A. from Madison College in 1952 and her Master’s in Library Science from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1961. She married Mark Kadec in 1975.
She followed her interest in libraries, information management and administration – gaining a well-known reputation leading to important positions including assignments in the Federal government, corporations, and universities. She served as Deputy Special Administrator in the White House, following terms in the Ft. Belvoir Research Information Center, the Armed Forces Weapons Program at the Pentagon, the Government Printing Office Library Programs Office, the Government Procurement Library Program, the Department of Agriculture National Library, the Federal Energy Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency under President Jimmy Carter (Wow).
In addition to governmental positions, she served as librarian at Fairchild Stratos Corporation, Booze Allen Applied Research, John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab, and Carnegie Public Library in Pittsburgh, and as a researcher at the Center for Scientific and Technical Information, Tel-Aviv, Israel. She taught classes at the Catholic University and the University of Maryland Masters’ programs as well as at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
In 1985, she retired from the EPA and began her own consulting business. Consulting services included Emerson Electric and Exxon Mobil and other commercial and governmental offices. Ten years later she took a second retirement and moved to Williamsburg, Va, where she was able to again use her interests in information activities at James City County.
Sarah received awards from the county and from the Women with a Cause. She received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Department of Agriculture and Commerce and a Silver Medal from the EPA. Sarah wrote articles and books and gave many speeches and presentations. She also served on a number of boards and advisory committees.
She was preceded in death by her nephew, Barry Clark; husband, Mark Kadec; brother-in-law, Walter Boothe; step-son, Ephraim Kadec; and sister, Nettie Boothe.
She is survived by her step-daughter-in-law, Rachel Kadec; step-son, Meir Kadec and family; nephew, Curtis Clark (Bonnie Clark); niece-in-law, Holly Clark-Mathews (Mark Mathews); step-grandchildren, Orr Kadec (Jordan), Yoav Kadec, Dan Kadec (Emanuelle); step-great-grandchildren, Danielle Kadec, Noa Kadec, Lenny Kadec; great-nephews, Brody Clark, Davis Clark, Nathan Clark.
Sarah loved her family and anytime you visited her and Mark, you got the royal treatment. She loved entertaining with friends, going to the opera/symphony and plays, traveling, and attending night classes at William & Mary. She enjoyed eating watermelon with salt, claimed it made it sweeter, and only bought American-made cars. She was “A beloved soul who touched many lives.” She will be missed.
A visitation will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. with the Memorial Service at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at Oakey’s East Chapel, Roanoke. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a charity of your choice. Arrangements by Oakey’s East Chapel and Crematory, 540-977-3909.
