Sally Sue Sanchez

1936 - 2017

Sally Sue Flournoy (Brown) Sanchez was born on March 25, 1936, in Williams, Arizona, to Billie and Eileen Flournoy. She passed away on Friday, May 5, 2017, in Yuma, Arizona, at the age of 81 years. She is with our Lord. She was truly a native Arizonian. She was the oldest of two children. Shortly after World War II began on December 7, 1941, her family moved to Altadena, California, where her father worked building ships for the war effort. After 9 months, in late 1942, the family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona, where she lived for the next 18 years. She attended Emerson Grade School, Flagstaff Junior High School, and graduated from Flagstaff High School in 1954.

She was active in high school, being elected by the student body to be a cheer leader in both her sophomore and senior years. She was a pom pom girl in her junior year. She was also active in the school choir, band (played the clarinet), and marched as a member of the Eagle drum and bugle corp. As a member of the drama club, she participated in plays, including both the Junior and Senior class plays, being named and honored as a National Thespian. She was a honor graduate, and was a member of the prom court. She participated in the Northern Arizona Music Festival for three years. In addition, she was a member of the Spanish club as well as the Rod and Reel club. She participated in Intramurals for three years as there were no girl's athletic teams at the time.

In 1954-55, she attended Arizona State College (now Northern Arizona University). She married her high school sweetheart, J.B. Brown, on December 31, 1955. They had two daughters: Catherine (Cathy) Brown Franklin and Susan Brown Mendoza. Her husband was in the Navy at the time of the marriage and later worked as a policeman for the Flagstaff Police Department and then as a lineman for Mountain Bell Telephone. Her husband was transferred to Yuma, Arizona, in 1960 by Mountain Bell. She lived in Yuma for the next 56 years. She was an active member of the Lady Elks for many years. Sally worked at the United bank in Yuma and later married the bank manager, Alex Sanchez. They resided in Ensenada, Sonora, Mexico, and in Yuma. Alex passed away on April 9, 2003. After his death, Sally remained in Yuma where she enjoyed her daughters, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She was very involved in all their lives and she was loved, admired and adored by all of them. She is survived by her daughters, Catherine and Susan (Roy), as well as 6 grandchildren, namely: Erica, Brian, Stephanie, Lesley, Anthony and Nicholas and 11 great grandchildren, namely: Christian, Isabelle, Joshua, Connor, Baylee, Garrett, Dylan, Adam, Brett, Aubrey and Nolan. She was a loving mother, adoring grandmother and great grandmother. She is also survived by her loving brother, Michael Flournoy, who resides in Flagstaff, Arizona. In addition, she is survived by her step-daughter, Elizabeth (Annie) Lopez, of Phoenix, Arizona.

She was preceded in death by her paternal grandparents (George and Vesta Flournoy), maternal grandparents (John J. and Myrtle Scanlon), father (Billie) and mother (Eileen), both her husbands (J.B. Brown and Alex Sanchez), and her grandson Scott Kernes.

She had great wit, many good friends, and never had an enemy throughout her life. She was an avid bridge player, particularly in the city of Yuma where she had many bridge partners.

Sally was active in the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and her funeral mass will be held at this church on Tuesday, May 16, 2017, at 2:30 p.m. The Rosary will be held on Monday, May 15, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. Burial will be in Flagstaff, Arizona, at the Calvary (Catholic) Cemetery in the Scanlon/Flournoy plot. There will be private graveside services prior to interment. Condolences may be sent to the family directly online at cfranklin618@hotmail.com.