Maria Sanderson

Maria Pilar Madrid Sanderson, 89, of Beaufort, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 18, 2025, after a long illness with Parkinson’s Disease.

Maria Pilar was born in Zaragoza, Spain on July 25, 1936, to the late Obdulio Madrid Sacristan and the late Teresa Sarasa Aguarod. She learned English with her three sisters by listening to English radio stations. She became the secretary for the high school located on the US Air Base in Zaragoza and met her future husband, Elmer Gibbie Sanderson, in classic American fashion, at the bowling alley on the base. They married in Zaragoza, Spain, on March 18, 1963, then moved to the US to start a family.

She made Beaufort her home and although she left Spain, her love for her mother country, and her accent, never faded; she returned often to visit family and friends. She shared her love of all things Spanish with her children and the community. She volunteered for twelve years as a Spanish teacher at St. Egbert’s Catholic School before spending the next sixteen years teaching Spanish at both West and East Carteret High Schools. She remained an active member of St. Egbert’s Catholic Church until moving to Durham for health reasons.

Maria Pilar is survived by her son, Carlos Sanderson and wife Hope of Beaufort, NC/Rumford, ME; her two daughters, Ana Maria Kistler and husband Robert Mark of Durham, NC; and Marta Pilar Sanderson and husband Robert Harrison Gibbs, Jr. of Williamsburg, VA; as well as her grandchildren, David Elmer and William Ferenc Kistler of Durham; Charles Avery and Sara Elizabeth Gibbs of Williamsburg. She is also survived by her sister, Casta Madrid Sarasa, of Zaragoza, Spain.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Elmer Gibbie Sanderson and her siblings, Teresa Madrid Sarasa, Ramon Madrid Sarasa, and Irene Madrid Sarasa.

She was a loving wife, the best mother and an amazing “Yaya”. She will always be remembered as she was in life – happy, joyful, personable, welcoming, with a big heart and a deep love for all her family and friends. She will be deeply missed, yet always loved “to the end of the numbers.”

A funeral mass will be held at St. Egbert’s Catholic Church, Morehead City, NC, followed by a graveside service at Ocean View Cemetery, Beaufort, NC. Service times are pending.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research or the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA). For further funeral information, contact Noe Funeral Service of Beaufort.

Condolences and life tributes may be sent to the family at www.noefs.net

Arrangements by Noe Funeral Service, Inc. of Beaufort, NC.