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Sally Taylor Obituary
The daughter of Cora Blaisdell and Ben Lockett, Sally was born in 1925 in Oakland, Calif., but grew up on an apple orchard in Winterport, Maine. She graduated at 18 with her Bachelor of Arts in Zoology from the University of Maine in Orono and earned her master's degree at the University of Indiana (1945). After graduation, she worked at Pfizer Inc. in Brooklyn until her marriage in 1946 to Dr. Roy J. Taylor, who passed away in 1989. Sally was a Professor of Botany, director of the program in Human Ecology, and managed the Caroline Black Garden at Connecticut College from 1964-1990.
Sally wrote many Arboretum bulletins on woody plants and marine algae; served as editor of two publications for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden; and authored the book, A Traveler's Guide to the Woody Plants of Turkey, based on her research and many trips to that country.
A committed environmentalist, Sally served on the Waterford Conservation Commission, the Southeastern Connecticut Resource and Recycling Association, the boards of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association, the Pequot Woods, and the Waterford Land Trust (formerly West Farms Land Trust). She also served on the Governor's Commission for Connecticut's Future, the State Natural Area Preserve Advisory Committee, and the Southeastern Connecticut Water Authority Advisory Board. She received the Mehlquist Award from the Connecticut Horticulture Society for education, and a similar award from the Soil Conservation Service of New London County. Most recently, while living at StoneRidge in Mystic, Sally led efforts to create the 'Tree Trail' and to beautify the landscape.
She was the devoted mother of three children, Nan Haavik of Norwalk, Roy D. Taylor (†) of Woodridge, Ill., and Sally Brunner of Ridgefield. Her extraordinary memory and indomitable spirit lives on in her eight grandchildren: Alec and Ben Haavik; Emily, Max, Theo, and Lydia Brunner; Roy J. and Amanda Taylor. She is also survived by her bevy of great-grandchildren: Kai, Dessa, Nathaniel, Cora, Mina, Dean, Cecilia, Caroline, Isidora, and Nephelie.
A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, May 14, 2022, at StoneRidge Auditorium, Mystic. A garden stroll in her honor will take place at 11 a.m. ET Sunday, May 15, 2022, at the Caroline Black Garden, New London. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift in her memory to the Caroline Black Garden at Connecticut College, New London. Contributions may be mailed to The Connecticut College Arboretum, Connecticut College, Olin Science Center, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320-9913.
The burial will be private, in Winterport, Maine, where the Blaisdell family settled in the 1700s, and where Sally Lockett Taylor spent her childhood.
Please visit www.byles.com to sign the online register or to share a memory.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Sally Taylor
Sponsored by Byles Memorial Home - New London.
Bradford Peck
January 28, 2024
Always cheerful Sally was a wonderful mentor and source of information for the students at Connecticut College. I always enjoyed Sally´s happy personality and interest in my work during my time at Connecticut College. Bradford Peck,
Master of Arts, Botany, 1976
Suzanne Niedzielska
April 29, 2023
With much joy, I recall the times over many years of playing recorder ensemble with Sally, whether at ECRS monthly meetings, or at AEM festival workshops at Conn College in New London in the summer. I believe it was her association with CFPA that made it possible for ECRS (Eastern Ct Recorder Society) to have such a welcoming meeting place. We were fortunate indeed to have Sally as a benefactor and member!
Nancy Leinwand
July 12, 2022
I knew Sally Taylor by correspondence only. We wrote occasional (handwritten) letters about Turkey and our general concerns of the day. I deeply appreciate her clarity and compassion. She is an inspiration for us all to hold our values.
Dr. Taylor was a generous donor to the American Research Institute in Turkey, including sharing some of her books related to nature and culture in Turkey, now in use in our library in Ankara.
Greetings and best wishes to her family and friends on her passing.
Sally Lockett Taylor at a family gathering, photo taken by Trina Lions.
Lydia Blaisdell
May 20, 2022
Sally Lockett Taylor as a college freshman in 1941.
Lydia Blaisdell
May 20, 2022
Susan Mariano
May 20, 2022
Dearest lost friend~you will forever be remembered in my life.Loved receiving the Christmas cards with printed letters.You was so proud to tell me of the achievements of your grand children and family.We really did enjoy our small talk.I was employed to help you around the house,even wrapped Xmas pkgs.Your over the .God Bless.Susan Mariano and husband Michael.
Lydia Blaisdell
May 19, 2022
My grandma was my favorite person. She was astonishing, fierce, funny, intelligent, and loving. We all know that Sally was also unbelievably humble, despite her mountain of achievements.
In loose chronological order, here are the seven important lessons that my grandmother taught me, and that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Lesson One: You are capable of so much more than anyone can imagine.
My grandmother spent her childhood on the family apple orchard in Winterport, Maine, mostly raised by her aunt, uncle, and grandparents. In her childhood, she snuck up into a hayloft and fell a good distance to the floor, forever altering her spine. And because little Sally feared getting in trouble, she didn’t tell anyone what had happened, she just soldiered through.
She was introduced to botany on the apple orchard, helping with the farm chores, which would later lead to her deep distaste for farming or growing food. She loved to sneak out to the pond and the Outhouse (yep, OUTHOUSE) to read as much as she could. She was an exceptional student and finished ‘high school’ at the one room schoolhouse by age 14. She finished college at 18. From there, she went on to get her masters and to head to Brooklyn Heights where she started her job at Pfizer, as the second woman on staff (the first being the inventor of penicillin). At this job, in this era, they wouldn’t let the women eat in the staff cafeteria.
But as you all already know, Sally was an unstoppable force and of course, persevered. And at Pfizer, she met Roy who turned out to be the great love of her life (even if he couldn’t dance to her standards). All of this leads to the next lesson:
Lesson two: When you see something wrong in the world, you do what you can to fix it.
A lot of women in Sally’s era would have met the husband, gotten married and settled down to the business of raising children. But Sally did all that while simultaneously, steadfastly, climbing the ranks at Connecticut College until she had ascended to full professor.
She didn’t stop with her own career or her family though, she also set her sights on the Arboretum, the native Azalea collection, the Caroline Black Garden, alongside deep conservation efforts. These many causes ranged from encouraging home landscaping with native plants and minimal chemicals/disturbances (in the 80’s her home landscaping was featured in the NYTimes!) all the way to serving on commissions for the CT State Forests and Parks, founding the Waterford Land Trust, and so many more than I can list here today.
She never lost sight of the big picture and was always concerned with what was happening to our planet, but also in our state, our city, our own backyards.
Lesson Three: Subscribe to the Faulkland’s Penguin News.
This one is self-explanatory. That particular publication brought her so much joy.
Lesson Four: Wherever you go, leave behind a garden.
These past weeks I’ve been walking in the Arboretum’s azaleas and the Caroline Black Garden. And I’ve loved the feeling of being in a place that she helped shape. It’s the same feeling I get walking past her Tree Trail at Stoneridge (many of which, she also helped plant or place or advocate for). She gave so much of herself to make a more restful, sustainable, and beautiful world for the rest of us. As a child, I thought her backyard was magic. Someone in the botany realm referred to Sally this week as “her horticultural hero”. Feels about right.
Lesson Five: Family means showing up.
My grandma was the matriarch of our family. She was at every Thanksgiving and Christmas (unless she was in Antarctica) and she brought us together. And family didn’t just mean blood, it meant anyone included her best friend from college days, Evie and her son, David.
Lesson Six: Antarctica on an Icebreaker is more important than Christmas. OR: Always take the trip.
The best part of preparing for today has been going through my grandmother’s slide collection and picking some favorites to share. I am awed by both her incredible photographic eye, her endless curiosity, and her detailed mind that recorded extensive captions for almost every single slide. She always, always told me to take the trip, whenever I wasn’t sure if I had the money or the time. For my 25th birthday, I went backpacking alone on the coast of Colombia. The rest of my family was worried. My grandmother was purely delighted. I am so glad that she got to see so many of the world’s wonders throughout her life.
And I’m so impressed by her generosity to then organize those adventures into neat slideshows to share with anyone else who might not make it to Antarctica or to see a polar bear strolling with her cubs on an ice sheet. Whatever she saw, whatever she knew, she was always happy to share that knowledge with anyone who asked.
Lesson Seven: Always answer a handwritten letter.
My grandmother wrote so many cards and postcards and notes throughout all the ages of my life. She would patiently write back to 8 year old Lydia reporting on archery class at summer camp. It always deepened our connection and made me feel loved no matter where I lived. And it wasn’t just me, of course. Sally maintained close friendships with folks who live in Turkey, in Scotland, and beyond through her wonderful letters (and yes, sometimes emails).
I hope that as we all move through this new world without my grandma in it, we can still carry forward these incredible lessons. Making it to 97 is a pretty impressive run. I love you, Grandma.
May her memory be a blessing for all of us who knew her indomitable spirit . And may it encourage us to keep bettering our broken world.
Margaret Evans
May 11, 2022
In life, there is that person. Aunt Sally was mine. Her advice was simple and to the point. In one of our many chats, I remember her telling me about the field of flowers at The Farm in Maine and saying, "I just liked flowers". And look where it took her! I loved talking with her about plants. Her wealth of knowledge was endless. She was a pro at translating it so I could understand it and apply if to what I was working on. So, when I started my Master Gardener Class and learned some of the technical aspects, I found myself saying, I know that. I just didn't know what it was called. Here is the closing sentence of a letter I wrote to her this past February. "Thanks to your guidance, gardening has become my passion and is a major part of who I am as a person; and is "rooted" in my soul as you are in my heart". Love-Margaret Ann
She was an incredible seamstress. I spent many a summer weekend at Best View Road in Quaker Hill, CT working on sewing projects while my cousins were off doing various summer activities. I did take one sewing class at the Singer Store in my teen years, but Aunt Sally fostered my skills. As a result, I was able to make some clothes for myself growing up. I'll never forget how accomplished I felt after I finished making a brown corduroy Jacket. All of this led me to quilting later on which has become a lifelong passion.
For years Aunt Sally & I spent a few Sundays a year at The Goodspeed Opera House enjoying musicals. We used to go as a group with mom, Evie, & Bob but once they were no longer with us, she decided that we would still go. She knew how much I loved these shows and one day, the tickets just arrived in the mail. I remember she said she always wanted to work backstage as a seamstress for the shows.
I had my trials and tribulations with Math in school. It was a major frustration in my life from the start. Have you ever heard of a teacher grading with a "blue F"? Welcome to my fifth grade math class where I was the recipient of just that. The only math class I passed the first time around was Geometry. This made total sense as it tapped into my creative side. When I expressed my stress over my math deficiency, Aunt Sally looked at me and said, "Well, you can't be good at everything". It took the pressure off and I made it through!
I have so many wonderful memories of time spent with Aunt Sally......I will remember that she supported me, loved me, and, most of all, believed in me.
Carol Ramsey
May 5, 2022
She was a teacher, mentor, safe harbor, and friend. Sally gave to me--and likely to countless others--her unconditional and boundless love. I could rest in it; I could strive, and take on any challenge, knowing that she would always take me in for an hour, a day, a week, or as long as the healing took. She opened her home to me whenever I needed respite; she never asked why. I celebrate a life that was well and fully lived. For all that she so freely gave to me, I hope I can carry her example forward.
Kathy Hume
May 5, 2022
I knew Sally from 2nd Congregational Church in New London(later Waterford Cong.) I remember talking to her about growing up on an apple farm in Maine and also about Arctic plants. She was a lovely lady.
The Squam Gang
Emily Brunner
May 4, 2022
Sally, dean, mina, cora, Ioanna and Ali
Emily Brunner
May 4, 2022
2018- emily with grandma and lydia
Emily Brunner
May 4, 2022
Emily Brunner
May 4, 2022
My grandma was part of my earliest memories, and I will miss her deeply. She was the one who started our annual trips to Squam Lake in New Hampshire, which we have continued into the current day with my parents, children and nieces. She was also a blazing example of accomplishment in a time where strong female role models were not everywhere. She also had an impressive commitment to open-mindedness and seeing the world. She used to go to Turkey and parts of the middle east on such a regular basis, that it helped expand our mind about cultures, and was likely a factor in 2 of my siblings and I marrying people who are not from the US. Best of all, she would always show a slideshow of her travels on thanksgiving, and because she was so wide-ranging, those slides included polar bears, emperor penguins and all kinds of amazing things. I was so blessed to have her in my life, and I will miss her.
Peter Siver
May 3, 2022
I was hired at Conn College when Sally retired in 1990. My wife and I got to know Sally after she retired, that is, from Conn! However, she remained so active and got me involved in the Connecticut Forest and Park Association and with the Water Authority Board. For many years we shared numerous experiences, talked often, and she invited us to yearly get togethers at her home. She was an inspiration and role model for sure, and her spirit will live on.
Karen Stone
May 2, 2022
I am so very sorry to learn of Sally's passing. She served on the Board of Trustees of the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center and her keen observations were essential to our work. She was a highly valued advisor with a deep knowledge of the environment and a wonderful wit. She served as an ambassador for DPNC at Stone Ridge and she will be sorely missed.
Jerry Grabarek
May 1, 2022
I had her for a professor in the late 70's and loved her classes. Love how much she did, how involved she was in her causes, and that she was raised on a Maine farm. Perhaps that's why she took a liking to me being a dairy farmer in the RTC program. Always thought of her after I graduated and became involved in town boards and still are. She was definitely an inspiration to me.
Sally and me at Mr. G's
April 30, 2022
Margo Steiner
April 30, 2022
I am thunderstruck to hear of Sally's recent passing. I somehow thought she would go on forever; she always seemed invincible. I had just written her for her birthday, and had planned to see her in early June at my 50th Conn reunion---as I did every five years. It will not be the same this year.
For me, this is the end of an era that began when I was an 18-year-old freshman in 1968. From that day on, Sally showed me extraordinary kindness, patience (!) and thoughtfulness, and gifted me so much. I practically lived at Dunbar Road during college and for many years after.
If not for her, I would not have gone to Turkey to search for the elusive, sweet-scented, deciduous Pontic azalea----and wouldn't have been rooming with Betty Thomson on our five-day Black Sea trip to Giresun, during which Betty came down with measles and likely infected every child on the boat. My luggage didn't arrive with me when I arrived in Istanbul, but I did have the 15 bare-rooted blueberry bushes Sally asked me to bring. Try to explain that at customs!!
I will fondly remember our many tennis games on the college courts—Sally and I against Roy, whose aim was deadly, whose speed was fast and whose delight at running the two of us around brought him so much joy. So many memories. Sally was a gift to me, one I've long treasured and will continue to honor going forward.
So very, very sad.
Theresa AmmiratiAmmirati
April 28, 2022
Sally was a wonderful colleague, neighbor, and friend. When my husband and I were looking for a house to buy, she told us about a great property adjoining the Arboretum and helped us to organize buying it. Along with Dick Goodwin and Bill Niering, she made it possible for us to sell some of the land to the arboretum and get conservation easements. We had forty wonderful years in the house that Sally introduced us to. I’ll always be grateful.
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