Sally Larson Babcock

1946 - 2025

Sally Mae Larson Babcock was born in Missoula, Montana April 20, 1946. She grew up in White Pine, Montana, a small community outside of Thompson Falls. Sally graduated high school in 1964 from Thompson Falls High School. She then attended Western Montana college and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education.

Sally married her childhood sweetheart, Ray S. Babcock on June 17, 1967. Ray and Sally moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Ray worked at Collins Radio, and Sally taught grades 4-6. The couple then returned to Montana in 1973, where Sally taught at Wilson Middle School and then Cottonwood school. In 1974, she earned her Master of Science in Education with a counseling emphasis from Montana State University. She gave birth to two children, Mary Elizabeth (Babcock) Black (1975), and Stephen Ray Babcock (1978). While substitute teaching Sally realized that many of her students struggled with mental health. She returned to Montana State University to get a second updated Mental Health and School Guidance Masters certificate in 1992. With her new focus on counseling, Sally worked at the HDRC in Bozeman.

At the end of 1992 she started her own business Whitepine Counseling Services and counseled many clients until retiring in 2021. In August of that year, Sally and Ray moved to Colorado Springs to live with their daughter's family. Sally was active in the Hawthorne PTA, First Presbyterian Church, BPW, Bridger Canyon Women's Club, Pilgrim Congregational Church, Life Training, and Koionia. Sally loved leading groups, building relationships near and far, collecting books and plants, and authoring a book about her son's death.

Sally is survived by her husband, Ray S. Babcock; daughter, Mary (Shawn) Black; grandchildren, Marina and Sydney Black; sister, Susan Kuntz; brother, Edward (Nancy) Larson; brother-in-law, Jon (Nami) Babcock, as well as many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Virginia Mary Larson (Marich); father, Kenneth Larson; father-in-law, Stephen D. Babcock; mother-in-law, Daun Babcock Howser; and son, Stephen Ray Babcock.

Sally passed away after a 2.5 year fight against inflammatory breast cancer. The 3rd cancer diagnosis of her lifetime. She was determined to live to 100 and would tell all her doctors they had to keep her alive until then. Unfortunately to her extreme disappointment this last highly aggressive cancer caused her demise at age of 79.

Memorials can be made to the Stephen Ray Babcock memorial scholarship at Montana State University.

A Visitation will be held at Bozeman United Methodist Church on Monday, December 29th from 10 A.M. until the time of service. Service will begin at 11 A.M. with Graveside Services following at Sunset Hills Cemetery.

Arrangements are in the care of Dokken-Nelson Funeral Service. www.dokkennelson.com