Sally Martyn Lacy

Sally Martyn Lacy of Jericho, Vermont, died on October 17th at the age of 97. Born in Cleveland Ohio to Herbert Vivian Martyn and Frances Dunham Martyn, Sally soon demonstrated her innate curiosity for plants and animals, riding her beloved horse Lucky, and drawing and making notations about what she saw in nature. Even with that love of the outdoors, she treasured the family lace and china left to her by British and Welsh ancestors.
Sally attended Wellesley (B.A.) and Harvard (M.Ed) and in 1955 married MIT man Thomas Bowditch Lacy. They raised their family and many pets in Brookside, New Jersey. Sally briefly worked as a special education teacher but her true callings were as animal portrait artist and advocate for working border collies. In addition to commissioned animal portraits, her pastels of the first giant panda pair from China at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in 1972 were shown in New York galleries.
Her love of equestrian dressage began in New Jersey when she acquired a frisky thoroughbred horse. Sally was also active in the League of Women Voters and was the local grammarian and unofficial wildlife rescue center.
Her first border collie Keswick inspired Sally's 70-year commitment to the breed. She was drawn to Scotland to study the intelligence and instinct of working border collies and their relationship with their shepherds. When Tom's job transferred to southern Ohio, they bought enough land to keep sheep and put the dogs to work. Sally became a skilled dog handler and ably competed in sheepdog trials throughout the U.S. and Canada. She was the first woman to compete against men in the United States Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA) National Finals.
Sally chaired the genetics committee of The New England Border Collie Association (NEBCA) and coordinated countless clinics to screen potential breeding dogs for Collie Eye Anomaly. Dedicated to breeding based on herding instinct and talent rather than on a physical standard, Sally unsuccessfully campaigned to stop the American Kennel Club (AKC) from recognizing the breed.
Sally and Tom retired to Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, where she continued to breed sheep and border collies with an eye towards building her success on the trial field. She supported many novice handlers by sponsoring training clinics with Scottish herding masters and still managed to marry farm life with really good tea, NPR, twice-cooked Scottish oatmeal, and visits to the Boston Symphony.
After Tom's death, Sally moved to Jericho Vermont, where, at 86, she traded in her large dog-trial-ready RV camper for a Connemara pony named Hope. She credited Hope for her recovery from a serious stroke in 2021. In 2022, with a combined age of 115, Sally and Hope completed the Century Club Ride, a judged dressage test for owner-horse pairs whose combined ages surpass 100. With concerns for her pony's future, she donated Hope to a children's riding academy in southern Vermont, and had one last ride on her 95 birthday.
Sally is predeceased by husband Thomas Bowditch Lacy, brother William Dunham Martyn, and nephews David Lacy and Peter Martyn. She is survived by her children Charles Martyn Lacy (Gaye Symington), Paul Matthews Lacy, Kathryn Lacy Marshall (David Marshall); grandchildren Emily Marshall (Will Matthews), Samuel Lacy (Carmen Lacy), Mary Lacy (Paul Coyne), Benjamin Marshall (Sarah Sandhaus), and Thomas Lacy of Jericho; great-grandchild Parker Marshall; numerous nieces and nephews, and her close friend and co-adventurer, Lorna McMaster.
Sally also leaves behind many friends and admirers from Westford and Colchester stables and her Jericho Center, West Bolton, and Underhill community. Over the past summer and fall, Jean, Bradlee, Margot, Bernie and Maeve, Kellianna, Faith, Jen, Katie, Patty and many others emailed and visited her, sharing with her their observations, photographs and poetry describing bees, insects, birds, deer, flowers, and other wonders from the wetlands, woods, gardens, and trails they were exploring. Sally so appreciated seeing that familiar natural world through their eyes.
In addition to friends and neighbors, the Lacy family appreciates the care and support provided by Dr. Marie Sandoval and the skilled and caring staff at Home Care Assistance of Vermont, Mansfield Place in Essex, and UVM Home Health and Hospice.
Please contact a member of the family if you would like a link to a video conference gathering to celebrate Sally later this year, or for Sally's instructions on preparing oatmeal properly.