Sally Lockett Taylor

Sally Lockett Taylor, noted botanist, of Mystic, CT, died at home on April 23, 2022 at age 97. She will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and all who knew her wit, deep intelligence, ferocity, and taste for adventure. Sally’s extensive travels have criss-crossed the globe with repeated journeys to Turkey and to Antarctica.

The daughter of Cora Blaisdell and Ben Lockett, Sally was born in 1925 in Oakland California, but grew up on an apple orchard in Winterport, Maine. She graduated at 18 with her BA in Zoology from the University of Maine in Orono and earned her master’s degree at the University of Indiana (1945). After graduation, she worked at Pfizer Inc. in Brooklyn until her marriage in 1946 to Dr. Roy J. Taylor, who passed away in 1989. Sally was a Professor of Botany, director of the program in Human Ecology, and managed the Caroline Black Garden at Connecticut College from 1964—1990.

Sally wrote many Arboretum bulletins on woody plants and marine algae; served as editor of two publications for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; and authored the book, A Traveler’s Guide to the Woody Plants of Turkey, based on her research and many trips to that country.

A committed environmentalist, Sally served on the Waterford Conservation Commission, the Southeastern Connecticut Resource and Recycling Association, the boards of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, the Pequot Woods, and the Waterford Land Trust (formerly West Farms Land Trust). She also served on the Governor’s Commission for Connecticut’s Future, the State Natural Area Preserve Advisory Committee, and the Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority Advisory Board. She received the Mehlquist Award from the Connecticut Horticulture Society for education, and a similar award from the Soil Conservation Service of New London County. Most recently, while living at StoneRidge in Mystic, CT, Sally led efforts to create the ‘Tree Trail’ and to beautify the landscape.

She was the devoted mother of three children: Nan Haavik of Norwalk, Roy D. Taylor (†) of Woodridge, Illinois, and Sally Brunner of Ridgefield. Her extraordinary memory and indomitable spirit lives on in her eight grandchildren: Alec and Ben Haavik; Emily, Max, Theo, and Lydia Brunner; Roy J. and Amanda Taylor. She is also survived by her bevy of great-grandchildren: Kai, Dessa, Nathaniel, Cora, Mina, Dean, Cecilia, Caroline, Isidora, and Nephelie.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 14, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. ET at StoneRidge Auditorium, Mystic, CT. A garden stroll in her honor will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. ET at the Caroline Black Garden, New London, CT. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in her memory to the Caroline Black Garden at Connecticut College, New London. Contributions may be mailed to The Connecticut College Arboretum, Connecticut College, Olin Science Center, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320-9913.

The burial will be private, in Winterport, Maine, where the Blaisdell family settled in the 1700s, and where Sally Lockett Taylor spent her childhood.