Sara Fry "Sally" Davis

1933 - 2025

Sara "Sally" Fry Davis
July 25, 1933 - March 23, 2025
Sara, better known as Sally, passed away in her home at the Friends House retirement community early on the morning of Sunday, March 23rd. She departs from a family that extends from Cape Town, South Africa to Santa Rosa, California.
Born in 1933 near Long Beach, California, her early years were highlighted by her artistic grandfather's love, his appreciation of nature, and car-camping. When she was five, Sally and the family visited seven national parks in a single summer.
After graduating from Boston University in 1956 and returning to California, Sally found herself in Lake County where there was no public special education and no federal funding to support such programs. She discovered what would become her career path when she founded the Happy Day School for Lake County's children with disabilities. Her approach recognized the critical role that parents play in their child's development and incorporated instruction for the parents, as well. She later directed the Jesse Baker School program in Elk Grove and taught graduate courses for special education teachers at CSU Sacramento. While at the Sacramento County Office of Education, Sally created an infant development program that enabled parents to begin timely care of their children with disabilities. Her work touched the lives of hundreds of students with disabilities.
Her career culminated in 2002 in Bratislava, Slovakia, where she demonstrated ways that teachers and parents can enable children with disabilities to find success with the abilities that they do have. Within just two months, her tutoring convinced the government to restore special education programs.
Sally was also an active volunteer, enjoyed traveling and was an avid artisan knitter. While in Sacramento, she chaired the local campaign for Freeze-Voter-'84. After retirement and moving to Santa Rosa, her life was enhanced by projects in that included chairing a Friends of the Homeless Committee. She joined a Quaker Peace Tour of the USSR, and toured Europe, South Africa, and China with children and grandchildren. She also visited Friends House Moscow, the Nonviolent Peaceforce in Sri-Lanka, and educational projects in northern and southern India.
Sally is survived by her husband, Steve Birdlebough (Santa Rosa, CA), sister Betty Moulds (Sacramento, CA), and brother Michael Fry (South Lake Tahoe, CA); four children: Susan McClellan (Lafayette, CO), Steve Davis (Truckee, CA), Sophie Kenn (Bishop, CA), Shelley Van Der Merwe (Cape Town, South Africa) and niece Elizabeth Titherington (Cotati, CA). She was grandmother to nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers for remembrance, please consider donating to the Nonviolent Peaceforce at: nonviolentpeaceforce.org.
A memorial gathering at Friends House will take place on April 26th at 1:30 p.m.