Sally Lea McCluskey

Sally Lea McCluskey, 80, of Springdale, AR passed away Saturday, March 26, 2022. She was born on April 27, 1941, in Omaha, NE, the daughter of Howard and Bea Bostwick. Sally received a B.A. from Wayne State Teachers College, an M.A. in English from the University of Arkansas, and a Ph.D. in English Literature from Northern Illinois University, where she met her future husband, Dan Borengasser, a fellow graduate student. After graduation, Sally taught at Eastern Illinois University. She also contributed to English textbooks for Harcourt Brace. She wrote prizewinning poetry, had a number of humor articles published, penned a screenplay for a film titled, "Three Apples Fall," and worked on a freelance basis as a writer for several greeting card companies. She published her first romance novel in 1984, and, under the pennames of Bethany Campbell and Lisa Harris, had more than 50 novels published. She has received three Romance Writers of America RITA Awards, three Romantic Times Reviewer Awards, a Maggie Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence. In addition to writing and being a voracious reader, she enjoyed annual trips to the Stratford Festival in Ontario as well as adventurous jaunts to islands such as Key West, Tahiti, and Bora Bora. Sally was a real animal lover. Over the years, multiple critters became members of her and her husband's household, which, at times, seemed one or two animals shy of a petting zoo. There were dogs, cats, rats, guinea pigs, chickens, horses, various reptiles and amphibians, a tarantula, a goose, a ferret named Julius, and a mischievous timber wolf mix named Sasha.
Survivors include Dan Borengasser, her husband of 46 years, son Peter McCluskey of Murfreesboro, TN, daughters-in-law Jenny McCluskey of Murfreesboro, TN and Meg Hayes of Little Rock, AR, and four grandchildren, Calvin McCluskey, Annie McCluskey, Aidan McCluskey, and Finn McCluskey.
Private services will be by family at a later date.
Remembrance donations can be made to Circle of Life Hospice, 901 Jones Road, Springdale, AR 72762.