Sarah Whitney Megonigal

Sarah (Sally) Whitney Megonigal (nee White) passed away on December 12, 2025 at the Capital Region Medical Center after a short neurological illness. She was 82 years old. Sally is survived by her sons Joel, Jr (Jay) and Russell, daughter-in-law Lauren, and grandchildren Carter and Lila.

Sally was born on September 4, 1943 to Nathaniel and Phyllis White (nee Whitney) in Washington, D.C. Both the White and Whitney families were among the earliest settlers to the United States. Her father was a 10th generation American whose ancestor Thomas immigrated from Fiddleford, England to Massachusetts in the 1620s. Her mother was also a 10th generation American whose ancestor John Whitney was born in Westminster England in July of 1592 and also immigrated to Massachusetts in the early 1600s.

When Sally was 7 (in 1951), she moved to Switzerland with her parents for a few years when her father worked in Europe as a civilian enlisted in the United States Army. This started a love of international travel and she was able to visit many countries later in life both with her husband and her sons. While in Europe, her mother felt a calling to adopt a German war-orphan and Sally gained a sister named Katy (Angelica), whom she came to love very much.

Besides this time abroad, Sally lived in Silver Spring, Maryland on Heron Dr from her birth until college. After spending one semester in Louisburg College in North Carolina, she moved back home and attended the University of Maryland in College Park where she earned a degree in Sociology. She met her future husband Joel during a party in front of Montgomery Hall. As legend has it, they met in a bush because Joel was too nervous to talk to her. Her roommate Joyce Prather was there when it happened and Sally would go on to count Joyce as her best friend, with their friendship spanning more than 60 years.

Sally and Joel had a long and loving marriage. They were married on August 20, 1966 and they remained committed to each other until Joel's passing from dementia on August 12, 2021, 55 years later. Sally remained devoted and committed to caring for Joel, even when it became extremely difficult.

Sally worked as a librarian from 1965 until Jay was born, where she helped to provide a down payment on a house she and Joel purchased in 1972 on Cordona Street in Lanham. She would go on to live there for the next 53 years. In 1985, Sally began working 3 days a week at the University of Maryland in the Physics Department. She continued working part-time for a total of just over 40 years, until December 2025.

Sally had a variety of artistic passions in life starting with ballet dancing when she was young. Unfortunately, her dancing career didn't last very long due to several knee injuries that ended up affecting her throughout her life. Her second love was singing and she sang in a variety of groups including the Greenbelt Lanham Chorale and later in the Central Maryland Chorale until her hearing diminished later in life.

She faithfully attended Lanham United Methodist Church beginning in 1973 and this continued up until her death. She sang in the chancel choir for many decades and eventually enlisted Joel and Jay to join her. For many years, she was also the editor of the church newsletter when clip-art was literally pictures cut from a piece of paper using scissors and glued onto a stencil and the words were entered using a manual typewriter.

She also had passion for reading and would often have a pile of books next to her. She loved mysteries and all things British, but would be happy to read almost anything. She was a talented writer and helped her sons to also become competent writers, through MANY red line edits in high school and college. She also helped improve the writing of the physicists she worked with, many of whom English was not their first language.

She was also a lifelong cat lover and had quite a few cats over the years. These included Domino (a black cat with white paws), Tuptim, a seal-point Siamese cat (named after the character in 'The King and I'), Simon, Sylvie, Katrina (who showed up on the back patio during Hurricane Katrina and loved to rub herself against Joel's beard), Annie, Sammy and finally Misty.

Sally also loved sewing, specifically counted cross stitch. She was always working on a project and produced dozens of works that decorate the walls of her home and the homes of many others.

One of Sally's favorite places outside of her home was the Outer Banks in North Carolina. She would go for 2 week vacations there as a kid, staying in rustic cottages. She continued the tradition with her own family every 3 or 4 years as Jay and Russell grew up. Lauren had her first visit to the Outer Bank while pregnant with Carter and this started a new tradition where they visited almost every year from then on. Her grandchildren got to know and love her through these trips as well as during visits on many holidays. She loved this place so much that she wanted her ashes to be spread there.

Sally was truly a beautiful and caring person who was a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother and grandmother. She lived her life as an embodiment of 1 Corinthians - she was patient, she was kind, not easily angered, never self-seeking, and she rejoiced in the truth. She WAS love.

We know that Sally was welcomed into heaven with open arms by her parents, sister, and husband (with no more dementia), as well as family and friends that have already gone before her. She touched many people through her lifetime and the karma of her love will be reverberating around the earth and heaven for many years to come.