Tiny but mighty, the five-foot ball of energy known as Mrs. Hester Sarah McGee unexpectedly left for her heavenly home on the evening of Thursday, April 2, 2026. Born Hester Sarah Miller on October 1, 1942, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to Colbert and Marion Mary (Spring) Miller, both deceased, she was the second child of the Millers, whose first daughter, Marion, died at a young age. Known to many family and friends as “Tiny,” Hester attended North High School and planned to become a nurse before meeting a young soldier stationed at Fort Devens, whom she married on October 29th, 1960, shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Her husband, Robert Lawrence “Bobby” McGee of Pendleton, North Carolina, passed away in late May 2020, and their first child, Robert Lawrence McGee, Jr., died of a medical event at just over a year old.

Losing a child at a young age did not derail Hester. She went on to have another child and built a full life marked by work and travel. She worked at Brown Shoe Factory; co-owned and operated a small restaurant called “The Sugar Shack” with her husband; and was a keypunch operator and later a Customer Service employee at Worcester County National Bank. She fulfilled her interest in medicine as a surgical technician at Saint Vincent’s Hospital, then became a travel agent with Fox Travel and later a travel supervisor for AAA in Framingham. After time away from the workforce, she returned part-time, spending the past three years as a hostess at Olive Garden near Solomon Pond Mall. Her adulthood included extensive travel for work and with family—visiting Alaska, Austria, Barcelona, Budapest, Egypt, Portugal, the UK, and more, along with over 40 cruises. Normally not adventurous, she tried everything from new cuisine to riding a camel! Just five days before she fell ill, Hester and her daughter, Sonya, completed a two-week transatlantic cruise on the brand new Norwegian Luna. They had become travel companions over the years, and the trips were a great way to spend time together and maintain health and balance after the loss of her mother, husband, and other loved ones.

Hester leaves behind her daughter, Sonya Leigh McGee who currently resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia; her daughter’s Godchildren, Phoenix Anne and Eli Ray Messer, of Virginia Beach, who lovingly call her “Gee Gee” and whom she loves as her own; her nephew Allen Price and his wife Aida, who spent time with her in her later years; as well as several aunts, uncles, and cousins from the Spring and McGee families, and many friends and coworkers she cherished like family.

“Mama McGee” will also be missed by the dancers and parents of Dance Artistry Unlimited, Inc., her daughter’s studio in Virginia Beach. Since its founding in 1997, Hester has returned yearly to assist with ticket sales, concessions, and cleanup, and has even flown in to cheer on dancers at competitions. Families looked forward to seeing her, and many alumni parents return each year to assist her with concessions and cleanup.

It’s hard to believe that this sweet, feisty, compassionate, opinionated, intelligent, sassy, multi-faceted bundle of energy has traveled on to her heavenly home so soon. She was still so full of life and planning new travels and adventures. Yet, Hester Sarah (Miller) McGee has now traveled on without us, and she will be greatly missed. Sonya would like to thank everyone who has reached out with kind words, sentiments, and gestures of support. She takes comfort in knowing that her mom is now in the presence of her Heavenly Father and reunited with her son, husband, and family members who preceded her.

A service is scheduled for Saturday, April 18th, 2026, at 12:00 PM at Mercadante Funeral Home in Worcester. Hester’s nephew, Bishop Earnest R. Santiful, Jr., of Kingdom Baptist Church and Ministries in Baltimore, Maryland, will officiate the ceremony. Viewing hours will be held before the service, starting at 10:30 AM, and the internment will take place on Monday, April 20th, at Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Winchendon. A small reception for family and close friends will be held immediately following the service.