On Aug. 30, 2025 in Lometa, Sarah Celeste Young Ault died unexpectedly in her sleep at home. She was 43.
Visitation will be held at Sneed-Carnley Funeral Chapel in Lampasas on Sept. 12 from 1-2 p.m. Graveside services will follow at Center Cemetery in Lometa at 2:30 p.m.
Celeste was born in Kerrville, and after a slight detour to Colorado as a child, she came back to Texas as a young adult. Her initial return to the state brought her to Lometa, then back to Kerrville, and then again finally back to Lometa. Though she treasured visits with her out-of-state friends, she was always a Texan. Jeans were a wardrobe staple, and her vehicle of choice was an industrially scaled pick-up truck. The Texas flag always made an appearance somewhere in her home. She loved the big blue skies and open fields that exist nowhere else in the world like they do in rural Texas.
Celeste is survived by two sons, whom she treasured above all else. Aside from the two she gave birth to, Celeste mothered every child who made friends with her boys. “Mama Celeste,” as the kids called her, kept her front door open, and children were welcome. In her self-designed role as counselor, babysitter and “second mom,” she oversaw a variety of backyard games, funded much pizza consumption and provided occasional transport to baseball games. All this came with large doses of free and unconditional affection, support and time.
Jobs came and went. Her favorites involved the care and tending of animals -- who instinctively adored Celeste. But Celeste’s devotion to her friends and family, especially her mother and her husband, never wavered. Celeste made sure she had an abundance of time for people, places and ways of life she loved. She was known as a patient listener, a cheerleader for others and a loyal friend.
Aside from her two sons, Preston Mixon and Rayford “Duke” Mixon, she is survived by her husband, Thad Ault of Lometa; stepdaughters Aliana Ault of Lometa and Keira Berner of Denver, Colorado; her mother, Miriam Chambers Clarkson of Kerrville; and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins (from San Antonio to Los Angeles).
Her father, John Edwin Young, as well as her paternal grandparents Edwin and Ruby Young, and her maternal grandparents Boardman and Lois Chambers, preceded her in death.
Donations may be made to Kerrville Pets Alive or the Freeman-Fritts Vet Clinic & Shelter.
