Sarah Louisa Conklin was a beloved Presbyterian missionary from the first half of the 20th Century. The Fellowship Hall of Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church is officially named the Sarah Louisa Conklin Fellowship Hall in her honor.
She served numerous missions before coming to St. George in January 1913. A Presbyterian school teacher, she was a legend described by her contemporaries as having a jovial disposition and ready wit that brought happiness and comfort to all with whom she came in contact.
In 1932, writing in Women and Missions, she commented on how her work affected the
Mormon community:
"There has always been a dearth of good reading matter among these people, and the periodicals given out in the Sunday school are very much appreciated. The Bible was not read very much in the early days, but now many are reading and profiting by the reading of the word. The children are largely responsible for this. They recite the verses that they learn at school, and that interests the parents, and gets them to reading other parts. Even the most fanatical relatives are delighted to hear the children recite the verses they have committed to memory."
Because of her life in St. George and the work she did here, her standing in the community was greater than any non-Mormon missionary who had preceded her. After retiring from missionary service in 1933, Miss Louisa remained in St. George doing what she had always done in the community - teaching and spreading the word of God. She died in 1949. Her body was viewed, in accordance with local tradition, in the Presbyterian church but, because the old St. George Presbyterian Church was too small for all of her mourners, her funeral was held in the Westside Mormon chapel with James Andrus, a Mormon bishop who regarded her as an angel of mercy, presiding. She is buried in the St. George Cemetery.