Remembering Sally Booth
Welcome to this site for memorials, stories and photos of Sally Booth. Please add your remembrances.
“Only connect…” (Dick Tobin)
EM Forster chose to highlight these words on the frontispiece of his 1910 novel Howards End, and of course they embody its central theme. When the novel’s protagonist, Margaret Schlagel, actually speaks them, she…
Gray’s Eulogy (Gray Booth)
Thank you all for being here as we remember and celebrate the life of Sally Booth. It is comforting to be with so many people who were dear to Mom and to…
Hello dear ones (Linda Gamage)
Hello dear ones as Sally Booth used to start many of her correspondences with, I am honored to be able to give you my remembrances about Sally, my friend, my mentor, most…
Sally (Jamey Bell)
I’m honored—overcome—to be here speaking about our beloved Sally. Gray, Bill, Lauri, Susan: thank you for your generosity in sharing her and this time. She was SO BIG—in a diminutive, contained package.…
About Mom (Bill Booth)
When we were young, all my friends and neighbors said that we had the best mom in the world, and that they wished their mother was like ours. At first I just…
Poem
I want to end by sharing some of her words about loss. Gray and I found this among her things, written as she was struggling with losing people. Mom, you will never…
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Sara Booth 
2 responses to “”
So many references in my life are from Sally-isms. 😉 My love for eating from a fresh garden, calligraphy, violets, and Roper Day Camp. Most importantly the value of a genuine smile can make someone’s day.
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Many folks have already captured Sally beautifully in words, but I would like to add a few thoughts. Sally had a long, rich history with my parents. She attended nursery school with my mom at Merrill Palmer in Detroit, and they remained life-long friends. Dad and Fred went to Cranbrook together – they shared a love of the outdoors and of building and fixing things. Both had meticulous workshops in their living places. Sally and Fred, Peggy and Erwin, spent a lot of time together as couples in the early days, and Dad remained attached to Sally even after his divorce from my mom, and after both Fred and my mom died. Dad asked about her often and visited her with us several times in Leland.
Sally’s connection with children was profound. I loved watching her interact with them when we visited her in Leland. She would bring out books and a dollhouse or barn for them, and speak to them naturally, asking good questions, and always, always listening well. Her homes (I remember three of them) were always cozy, comfortable, colorful places, where one felt welcome. Dick greatly enjoyed accompanying me to some of the Christmas Eve gatherings on Larchlea. At the risk of sounding trite, I would say that it felt like “coming home” when one came to Sally’s house. There are images that will forever remind me of Sally: the color red (my personal favorite), beautifully illustrated or well-written children’s books, the smell of curry in a dish cooking on a stove, lush healthy begonias and herbs growing in pots, piles of unread newspapers or magazines, honest responses to silly or uninformed comments (she did not suffer fools), thoughtful notes written in small distinctive handwriting, her dazzling smile (about which many have commented). She was a devoted godmother to my sister Linda, providing needed support during a divorce and the ongoing challenges of parenting a son with mental health issues. Her fierce intelligence and strong convictions about equity were tempered with a playful sense of humor. She loved to discuss important issues, but she also loved to laugh. Dick and I (and our children) loved Sally. She made a mark on our lives, and we will miss her very much. Peggy (Wilson)
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