Sallie Calhoun VanITALLIE

VanITALLIE, Sallie Calhoun


Sallie Calhoun VanItallie (Newton) passed quietly and with her usual grace on December 29, 2012. She was born in New York City on March 25, 1929. Sallie's early childhood was spent living in Paris with her family. They then returned to New York City and Sallie attended various boarding schools, graduating from the Madeira School in McLean, VA in 1946. Her treasured companion through her years at Madeira was her horse Colonel Joe, with whom she delighted riding to the hounds. She rode in Middleburg, VA, and as a member of The Millbrook Hunt, Millbrook, NY, where her family had a farm as a respite from city life. Sallie graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Philosophy in 1950, and then married her first husband Jose Machado Calhoun in October 1950. They built a full life in Connecticut—first in Suffield, and then West Hartford, where they raised their three children, Jose M. Calhoun Jr. (Jake), Cecilia Calhoun-Firger and Nancy Calhoun Brink. The family split their time between home in Connecticut and a ski house in Killington. As Sallie had the gift of a beautiful singing voice, her children treasured the many times the family would gather and sing in large groups with families and friends, as well as just in the car together as they drove to Vermont. Sallie's strong creative streak appeared throughout all aspects of her life. She would paint and draw, but also, would set an amazing table for a dinner party, sew incredible dresses for a fancy ball and essentially brought a sense of beauty and whimsy to every aspect of her life. Sallie gave a large percentage of her fine and creative mind to various not-for-profit organizations. Foremost amongst these was The Wadsworth Atheneum, where she was not only president of the Women's Committee but instrumental in the formation of the Docent's Council, today a mainstay of the Atheneum's outreach. She went on to work for the Connecticut Historical Society, and St. Francis Hospital, in Public Relations. Divorced from Jose in 1982, Sallie had the good luck and joy to find great love with Dr. Theodore B. VanItallie, of NYC and Fenwick, in 1984. She moved to New York with Ted and then had the grand fun and adventure of buying land and building a beautiful house in Boca Grande, FL. Always driven to create, Sallie co-founded with Ted and several others, the Boca Grande Historical Society and Museum, of which she was President for four years, in addition to serving many terms as a Board member. Sallie and Ted conceived and produced multiple history exhibitions over the years and helped to preserve the fascinating history of this very special barrier island. The Boca Grande Historical Society continues to thrive today owing in substantial part to the dedication, hard work and perceptive planning done by Sallie and Ted. Sallie also was honored to serve for several years on the Board of The Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, MA. After 20 years in FL, Sallie and Ted left to live full-time in their summer home in Old Lyme. In addition to her beloved husband Ted, her children Jake, Celia and Nancy, she leaves her two sons-in-law, Phillip Brink of West Harford, and Robert Firger of Bloomfield and five grandchildren, Caroline Louise Stevens, Cameron Calhoun Stevens, Avery Baldwin Brink, Paige Calhoun Brink and Mackenzie Ellis Brink. The family would also like to mention and give great thanks to Katherine Nilsson who helped Sallie and Ted through the last year of Sallie's life with grace and kindness.
Contributions may be made in Sallie's memory to The Boca Grande Historical Society, P.O. Box 553, Boca Grande, FL 33921 or The Docent's Council of The Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06103. A memorial service for Sallie will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Jan. 12 at St. Anne Episcopal Church, 82 Shore Road, Old Lyme, CT. A reception will follow at the Old Lyme Country Club.