A Georgia pastor has announced the death of his 19-year-old daughter.
Sarah Ellington Stone died aged 19 after a long battle with illness, having spent several months in a hospice, her father Mike Stone said on Tuesday.
'With heavy hearts upheld by our Christian faith, we want to share that our precious Sarah has gone to be with the Lord,' Stone wrote on social media.
Mike Stone has served as the pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia for 24 years. He joined the church as a minister of music in October 1996 and became a pastor in June 2002.
Stone's daughter Sarah had faced a challenging battle with multiple illnesses. She endured hospice stays, strict medication regimens, feeding tubes, and an inability to engage in regular activities.
The pastor and his wife had known that their daughter was experiencing her final moments for several months.
Sarah celebrated her 19th birthday on September 3rd and her father's birthday on September 8th.
'We are blessed to have made it to Sarah's 19th birthday and I'm really so happy she made it to celebrate my birthday, too,' Stone wrote on Facebook on September 8.
Sarah Ellington Stone died aged 19 after a long battle with illness, having spent several months in a hospice
Georgia pastor Mike Stone announced the death of his 19-year-old daughter on Tuesday afternoon
Sarah was able to celebrate her 19th birthday in September, and her father's birthday a few days later
Last month, Stone wrote on Facebook: 'We continue to be amazed, and gratefully so, that Sarah is still with us.
'But there is no mistaking that she is extremely weak and we recognize her continued decline.
'As ravaged as her body is from disease, her mind remains sharp and her faith is strong.
'Her sense of humor rarely misses a beat. Or a chance at a joke.'
Sarah entered hospice in August, her father shared on Facebook.
'Sarah is proving that her fight is as strong as her faith.
'And yet we continue to see the undeniable signs that, barring a miracle, her home going will be soon,' Stone wrote five weeks after his daughter began hospice care.
Sarah documented her fight with chronic illness on her social media and aimed to help other chronically ill Christians making sense of their faith.
Sarah's father cherished her sense of humor, which he said 'rarely misses a beat'
Mike Stone has been the pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church of Blackshear, Georgia for more than 24 years
In a video from November 2025, Sarah said: 'Grief as a chronically ill Christian is a complex and deeply layered experience.
'It's not just the loss of our health but the loss of dreams, plans and a version of life that never got the chance to exist.'
She wrote: 'But the beautiful thing about suffering as a Christian, is these truths at the end can apply to any circumstance! No matter what trial you're facing, his grace will be sufficient. Rest in that.'
A service will be held to honor Sarah on November 8 at Emmanuel Baptist Church of Blackshear.
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