Sally Pearl McCaleb

Sally might tell you that her life began when she met Alvin McCaleb in high school, but in reality, Sally came into this world on October 5, 1929. Sally is the youngest of ten children (5 sisters, 4 brothers) born to Pearl Hight and Tony David Hight. Sally’s dad died when she was only 3 months old, but her siblings made sure she was cared for. Sally always said that she never had a day when she didn’t feel loved.

Sally met Alvin McCaleb at Clayton High School where they both graduated and where Sally was the valedictorian of their class. Alvin and Sally married on July 27, 1947, at First Baptist Church in Clayton, but they began married life in Cactus, a small oil field town in the Texas panhandle. They soon joined the Baptist church there and Alvin began to climb the ladder of employment at Phillips Gas Plant. While there, Sally and Alvin started their family: Kathy (1948) and Nathan (1951). After moving to several places in Texas, Sally and Alvin settled in the middle of nowhere – in the middle of the Shamrock Oil and Gas company’s oil field. Their nearest neighbors were two miles away and much of the road was unpaved. Sally became a Brownie Troop leader at the closest elementary school (10 miles away) and served a term as PTA president. It was here that Alvin taught Sally to drive a car and to ride a bicycle. After four years, Sally and Alvin purchased the company house they had lived in and actually had the house moved to Dumas, Texas. Complicating that move, baby Janet joined the family just before the house was literally picked up and moved into town.

Sally’s years in Dumas were full of family, friends, and fun. Sally was a stay-at-home mom until Janet started junior high. During those years she enjoyed times with her Jabberwocky Club of friends, hosting Women’s Missionary Union meetings, and going on bike rides with Alvin. Together they took many Saturday bike rides of 50 or more miles and completed mountain rides plus at least one ride of 100 miles!

As Alvin moved up Shamrock’s corporate ladder, he was promoted to the executive office in Amarillo. Sally decided to take advantage of the junior college there and earned an Associate’s Degree. While in school, she also enjoyed learning photography and played the violin in the orchestra.

Sally and Alvin always enjoyed travel, both domestic and foreign, from camping to elegant hotels. They traveled the U.S. and Sally traveled to every state in the U.S. One of their last trips was to Europe where they saw as many countries as possible in two weeks time.

Alvin died from cancer, just after he and Sally celebrated 49 years of marriage to each other. After several months of living alone, Sally married Jack Parker and they moved to San Angelo. They enjoyed traveling to Alaska, touring the Rocky mountains, and seeing the east coast before Jack died.

During Sally’s last years in San Angelo, she made many wonderful friends and was an involved member of Southland Baptist Church. She enjoyed many hours of playing cards with friends, traveling with Kathy and David to Scotland, Israel, Italy, and more.

Sally and Alvin had three children, seven grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Enhabit Hospice of San Angelo. 326 W Highland Blvd, San Angelo, TX 76903

A graveside service will be held on Saturday, November 29, 2025, at 2:00pm at Llano Cemetery, in Amarillo, TX.