Sara Owen Burlock

Sara "Sally" Owen Burlock passed away at her home in Harpswell, Maine on December 13, 2023 at the age of 86, surrounded by her loving family and cherished caregivers.

Born on January 12, 1937 in Auburn Maine to C. Fred and Dorothy (Parsons) Owen, Sally often spoke of her parents' long and happy marriage and her own happy childhood. Always a good student, Sally attended the Longfellow School in Brunswick, Maine, and graduated from Brunswick High School in 1955 where she was a cheerleader, a member of the National Honor Society, and was voted "Most Intelligent" and "Biggest Flirt" by her classmates during her senior year. These attributes held true for the rest of her life. The first in her family to attend college, Sally graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1959 with a degree in Education, and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society in recognition of her academic achievement.

While attending the University of Maine, Sally met and married the love of her life, Walter Burlock of Presque Isle, Maine. They were married in Auburn, Maine on December 27, 1958. As her son-in-law, Mark Leuchtenberger, recently observed, "Theirs was one of the great romances." Upon graduation, Sally and Walter began their married life in Presque Isle, Maine, moving to Houlton, Maine a short time later. They lived in Houlton for 35 years, nearly all of that time at their home at 17 Park Street, rearing their three children, Tracy, Kelly, and Walter, Jr. (Buzz). Besides often saying, "I love you," Sally's most frequently used parenting phrase during her children's teenaged years was "Sunshine, you are grounded!"

While caring for her young family, Sally was also a beloved teacher in the Social Studies department of Houlton High School for many years. She had the challenge of teaching each of her three children in the required high school course in U.S. Government. Happily, all emerged unscathed from that experience, and with mutual appreciation. An ardent feminist well ahead of her time, she was outraged to learn that some of her young female students who, because they were pregnant, were not allowed to participate in commencement activities. Marching into the Superintendent's office, she pointed out the injustice and hypocrisy of the policy, demanding that the young men responsible be barred from commencement as well. Lo and behold, everyone was welcome to participate.

When her three children left home to pursue their own education and careers, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream. With Walter's full support, she applied for admission to law school at the age of 46, and began her legal studies at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland. For three years she lived in southern Maine, for a time happily rooming with her daughter, Kelly, and later with her son, Buzz. She was committed to her studies, while Walter commuted four hours each way on the weekends to spend time with her. She earned her JD in 1986. She once observed, "Every woman ought to try to change her life in the middle."

Sally returned to Houlton to pursue her second career, in the law, where her sharp mind and compassionate heart served her profession well. She began her practice at a local law firm, Severson, Hand & Nelson, then served as an Assistant District Attorney, and ultimately opened her own practice with her wonderfully talented assistant, Cindy Woodworth Lindsay. Sally's office focussed on advocacy for the economically disadvantaged, particularly indigenous women in Aroostook County and their children as they battled domestic abuse, divorces, and custody issues in a male-dominated culture. Even professionally, her kindness always ruled the day. One Christmas she confessed to her daughter Tracy that there had been a new pair of gloves for her under the Christmas tree, but Sally had that day given the gloves to a client who had trudged two miles in the brutal December cold of northern Maine to reach her office for advice.

Upon their retirement, in 1996 Sally and Walt moved to Dingley Island in Harpswell, Maine. On Dingley, Sally enjoyed a beautiful new home on the water, lovely friends and neighbors, and being closer to her family. During the winters, when her health permitted, they spent time at their home in Marco Island, Florida. She also continued to contribute to the legal profession by serving on the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar for a time along with Maine's current Governor, Janet Mills.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Sally found great joy in the role of a loving wife, mother, and grandmother. She and Walt created a home filled with warmth, laughter, and unconditional love, in spite of Sally's deep aversion to cooking anything but sweets. While her health permitted, her hobbies included travel, oil painting, knitting, reading, and attending Maine State Music Theater productions in the summer on the Bowdoin College campus. The last book she read was "Lessons in Chemistry," which she enjoyed except for the ending, which she pronounced was "too easily wrapped up and not authentic."

Sally will be remembered for her kindness, keen intelligence, beauty, sense of style, and unshakeably sunny outlook on life. She leaves behind a legacy of love, optimism, and a commitment to making the world a better place.

She is survived by Walter Burlock of Harpswell, Maine, her devoted and loving husband of nearly 65 years, and her adoring children Tracy and her husband, Mark Leuchtenberger of Harpswell, Maine, Kelly and her husband, Ben Palaima of Hooksett, NH, Buzz of Harpswell, Maine, her former daughter-in-law Leslie Walker of Orcas Island, WA, and her sister Susan Owen Farnsworth of Harpswell. She is also survived by her granddaughters Sara Grace Leuchtenberger, Rachael Burlock Palaima, and Margaret Charlotte "Charley" Burlock as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. Sally was pre-deceased by her parents, Fred and Dot Owen of Brunswick, Maine, her brother, Charles Owen, Jr., her sister, Letha Owen Sawyer, her nephew, Billy Richards, and her grandson, Benjamin Walker Burlock. Her family is especially grateful to her primary caregiver, Kelly Babcock of Bath, Maine.

Sally requested that no services be held. In honoring Sally's deep commitment to women's rights, her family has requested that remembrances be made in the form of contributions to Planned Parenthood in Sally's memory.