SAVANNAH - Sally McAdoo Coy died peacefully at her Savannah house with her family gathered around her on the morning of Wednesday, March 20, shortly after her 94th birthday.
Her life was full of places and people and events and ideas. As a young girl she learned to love horses, and at 14 she went off to Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, where she became an accomplished rider and fox hunter. With her family she spent summers along the New England coast where she developed a lifelong love for the sea and sailboats. At 17 she traveled around the world with two close friends, stopping most memorably in China, Japan, Siam, Bali and India.
In 1938 she entered Sarah Lawrence College where she studied with renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell whose understanding of humanity influenced her profoundly.
In 1942 she married Naval Lieutenant Peter Meldrim Coy, grandson of Judge Peter Meldrim of Savannah. During World War II, while Lt. Coy served as executive officer aboard destroyers in the Pacific, she worked for the Bendix Corporation assembling radio equipment for military aircraft.
In 1945 she gave birth to her first child and her focus turned to the family. She would say that she was blessed with a life filled with wonder and beauty. But in her humility she would never consider that she played a part in making it that way. She would credit her grandfather, William Gibbs McAdoo, with instilling in her a deep caring for everyone around her. Mr. McAdoo grew up barefoot in Milledgeville during Reconstruction and rose to become Secretary of the Treasury under Woodrow Wilson and served as a U.S. Senator.
She would say her exuberance came from North Carolinian Captain Isaac Emerson, her step-grandfather, whose love of living infected all who met him. She would insist the warmth of her humor came directly from her father, Francis Huger McAdoo and that her feeling for the beauty of azaleas, gardenias and her favorite Venetian glass candelabra came from her mother, Ethel McCormack Looram, and from her mother-in-law, Sophie Meldrim Shonnard.
For her whole life she was deeply concerned with the condition of children in the world. As a consequence, through Save the Children, she continually sponsored children from Bolivia, the Philippines and elsewhere with whom she corresponded for years. She supported native American schools in Montana, gave generously to the scholarship fund of a small experimental school in Virginia and served on the Women's Board of Bethesda. She was a strong proponent of conservation and environmental protection especially on Martha's Vineyard Island in Massachusetts. And she was a constant advocate for the care and rehabilitation of wounded veterans.
What gave her the most joy in life was her family - her late husband Peter, her daughter and her two sons. And the six complex generations of grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles, aunts, first/second/third cousins twice removed, nephews and step-nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she touched with her gentle humor, her courtesy, her affectionate smile and contagious laughter.
Over the years, she created warm and beautiful houses full of flowers and caring and family dogs breathing life into wherever she lived from Perrysburg, Ohio, to Jacksonville, Florida, to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, to Geneva, Switzerland, to Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia. Her home was always open to all the family and to all her many devoted friends many of whom were initially friends of her children.
She will be missed but her deep respect and love for all people, no matter who or what they were, and her generous concern for all living things has been passed down to those she touched and will live in her family for generations to come.
Sally Coy was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, the National Society of Magna Carta Dames, the West Chop Club and the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. She was a long-time communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church in Savannah.
She is survived by: her brother Francis Huger McAdoo, Jr. of Oldwick, New Jersey; her sister Anne McAdoo Deford of Hydes, Maryland; her daughter Sheila Meldrim Coy of Missoula, Montana; her two sons Peter McAdoo Coy of Faber, Virginia, and Timothy Emerson Coy of Savannah; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make remembrances may send donations to Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) or the Green-Meldrim House Restoration Fund at St. John's Church, 1 West Macon Street Savannah.
--Savannah Morning News, April 14, 2013
Her life was full of places and people and events and ideas. As a young girl she learned to love horses, and at 14 she went off to Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, where she became an accomplished rider and fox hunter. With her family she spent summers along the New England coast where she developed a lifelong love for the sea and sailboats. At 17 she traveled around the world with two close friends, stopping most memorably in China, Japan, Siam, Bali and India.
In 1938 she entered Sarah Lawrence College where she studied with renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell whose understanding of humanity influenced her profoundly.
In 1942 she married Naval Lieutenant Peter Meldrim Coy, grandson of Judge Peter Meldrim of Savannah. During World War II, while Lt. Coy served as executive officer aboard destroyers in the Pacific, she worked for the Bendix Corporation assembling radio equipment for military aircraft.
In 1945 she gave birth to her first child and her focus turned to the family. She would say that she was blessed with a life filled with wonder and beauty. But in her humility she would never consider that she played a part in making it that way. She would credit her grandfather, William Gibbs McAdoo, with instilling in her a deep caring for everyone around her. Mr. McAdoo grew up barefoot in Milledgeville during Reconstruction and rose to become Secretary of the Treasury under Woodrow Wilson and served as a U.S. Senator.
She would say her exuberance came from North Carolinian Captain Isaac Emerson, her step-grandfather, whose love of living infected all who met him. She would insist the warmth of her humor came directly from her father, Francis Huger McAdoo and that her feeling for the beauty of azaleas, gardenias and her favorite Venetian glass candelabra came from her mother, Ethel McCormack Looram, and from her mother-in-law, Sophie Meldrim Shonnard.
For her whole life she was deeply concerned with the condition of children in the world. As a consequence, through Save the Children, she continually sponsored children from Bolivia, the Philippines and elsewhere with whom she corresponded for years. She supported native American schools in Montana, gave generously to the scholarship fund of a small experimental school in Virginia and served on the Women's Board of Bethesda. She was a strong proponent of conservation and environmental protection especially on Martha's Vineyard Island in Massachusetts. And she was a constant advocate for the care and rehabilitation of wounded veterans.
What gave her the most joy in life was her family - her late husband Peter, her daughter and her two sons. And the six complex generations of grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles, aunts, first/second/third cousins twice removed, nephews and step-nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she touched with her gentle humor, her courtesy, her affectionate smile and contagious laughter.
Over the years, she created warm and beautiful houses full of flowers and caring and family dogs breathing life into wherever she lived from Perrysburg, Ohio, to Jacksonville, Florida, to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, to Geneva, Switzerland, to Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia. Her home was always open to all the family and to all her many devoted friends many of whom were initially friends of her children.
She will be missed but her deep respect and love for all people, no matter who or what they were, and her generous concern for all living things has been passed down to those she touched and will live in her family for generations to come.
Sally Coy was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, the National Society of Magna Carta Dames, the West Chop Club and the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. She was a long-time communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church in Savannah.
She is survived by: her brother Francis Huger McAdoo, Jr. of Oldwick, New Jersey; her sister Anne McAdoo Deford of Hydes, Maryland; her daughter Sheila Meldrim Coy of Missoula, Montana; her two sons Peter McAdoo Coy of Faber, Virginia, and Timothy Emerson Coy of Savannah; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make remembrances may send donations to Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) or the Green-Meldrim House Restoration Fund at St. John's Church, 1 West Macon Street Savannah.
--Savannah Morning News, April 14, 2013
SAVANNAH - Sally McAdoo Coy died peacefully at her Savannah house with her family gathered around her on the morning of Wednesday, March 20, shortly after her 94th birthday.
Her life was full of places and people and events and ideas. As a young girl she learned to love horses, and at 14 she went off to Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, where she became an accomplished rider and fox hunter. With her family she spent summers along the New England coast where she developed a lifelong love for the sea and sailboats. At 17 she traveled around the world with two close friends, stopping most memorably in China, Japan, Siam, Bali and India.
In 1938 she entered Sarah Lawrence College where she studied with renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell whose understanding of humanity influenced her profoundly.
In 1942 she married Naval Lieutenant Peter Meldrim Coy, grandson of Judge Peter Meldrim of Savannah. During World War II, while Lt. Coy served as executive officer aboard destroyers in the Pacific, she worked for the Bendix Corporation assembling radio equipment for military aircraft.
In 1945 she gave birth to her first child and her focus turned to the family. She would say that she was blessed with a life filled with wonder and beauty. But in her humility she would never consider that she played a part in making it that way. She would credit her grandfather, William Gibbs McAdoo, with instilling in her a deep caring for everyone around her. Mr. McAdoo grew up barefoot in Milledgeville during Reconstruction and rose to become Secretary of the Treasury under Woodrow Wilson and served as a U.S. Senator.
She would say her exuberance came from North Carolinian Captain Isaac Emerson, her step-grandfather, whose love of living infected all who met him. She would insist the warmth of her humor came directly from her father, Francis Huger McAdoo and that her feeling for the beauty of azaleas, gardenias and her favorite Venetian glass candelabra came from her mother, Ethel McCormack Looram, and from her mother-in-law, Sophie Meldrim Shonnard.
For her whole life she was deeply concerned with the condition of children in the world. As a consequence, through Save the Children, she continually sponsored children from Bolivia, the Philippines and elsewhere with whom she corresponded for years. She supported native American schools in Montana, gave generously to the scholarship fund of a small experimental school in Virginia and served on the Women's Board of Bethesda. She was a strong proponent of conservation and environmental protection especially on Martha's Vineyard Island in Massachusetts. And she was a constant advocate for the care and rehabilitation of wounded veterans.
What gave her the most joy in life was her family - her late husband Peter, her daughter and her two sons. And the six complex generations of grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles, aunts, first/second/third cousins twice removed, nephews and step-nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she touched with her gentle humor, her courtesy, her affectionate smile and contagious laughter.
Over the years, she created warm and beautiful houses full of flowers and caring and family dogs breathing life into wherever she lived from Perrysburg, Ohio, to Jacksonville, Florida, to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, to Geneva, Switzerland, to Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia. Her home was always open to all the family and to all her many devoted friends many of whom were initially friends of her children.
She will be missed but her deep respect and love for all people, no matter who or what they were, and her generous concern for all living things has been passed down to those she touched and will live in her family for generations to come.
Sally Coy was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, the National Society of Magna Carta Dames, the West Chop Club and the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. She was a long-time communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church in Savannah.
She is survived by: her brother Francis Huger McAdoo, Jr. of Oldwick, New Jersey; her sister Anne McAdoo Deford of Hydes, Maryland; her daughter Sheila Meldrim Coy of Missoula, Montana; her two sons Peter McAdoo Coy of Faber, Virginia, and Timothy Emerson Coy of Savannah; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make remembrances may send donations to Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) or the Green-Meldrim House Restoration Fund at St. John's Church, 1 West Macon Street Savannah.
--Savannah Morning News, April 14, 2013
Her life was full of places and people and events and ideas. As a young girl she learned to love horses, and at 14 she went off to Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, where she became an accomplished rider and fox hunter. With her family she spent summers along the New England coast where she developed a lifelong love for the sea and sailboats. At 17 she traveled around the world with two close friends, stopping most memorably in China, Japan, Siam, Bali and India.
In 1938 she entered Sarah Lawrence College where she studied with renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell whose understanding of humanity influenced her profoundly.
In 1942 she married Naval Lieutenant Peter Meldrim Coy, grandson of Judge Peter Meldrim of Savannah. During World War II, while Lt. Coy served as executive officer aboard destroyers in the Pacific, she worked for the Bendix Corporation assembling radio equipment for military aircraft.
In 1945 she gave birth to her first child and her focus turned to the family. She would say that she was blessed with a life filled with wonder and beauty. But in her humility she would never consider that she played a part in making it that way. She would credit her grandfather, William Gibbs McAdoo, with instilling in her a deep caring for everyone around her. Mr. McAdoo grew up barefoot in Milledgeville during Reconstruction and rose to become Secretary of the Treasury under Woodrow Wilson and served as a U.S. Senator.
She would say her exuberance came from North Carolinian Captain Isaac Emerson, her step-grandfather, whose love of living infected all who met him. She would insist the warmth of her humor came directly from her father, Francis Huger McAdoo and that her feeling for the beauty of azaleas, gardenias and her favorite Venetian glass candelabra came from her mother, Ethel McCormack Looram, and from her mother-in-law, Sophie Meldrim Shonnard.
For her whole life she was deeply concerned with the condition of children in the world. As a consequence, through Save the Children, she continually sponsored children from Bolivia, the Philippines and elsewhere with whom she corresponded for years. She supported native American schools in Montana, gave generously to the scholarship fund of a small experimental school in Virginia and served on the Women's Board of Bethesda. She was a strong proponent of conservation and environmental protection especially on Martha's Vineyard Island in Massachusetts. And she was a constant advocate for the care and rehabilitation of wounded veterans.
What gave her the most joy in life was her family - her late husband Peter, her daughter and her two sons. And the six complex generations of grandfathers and grandmothers, uncles, aunts, first/second/third cousins twice removed, nephews and step-nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that she touched with her gentle humor, her courtesy, her affectionate smile and contagious laughter.
Over the years, she created warm and beautiful houses full of flowers and caring and family dogs breathing life into wherever she lived from Perrysburg, Ohio, to Jacksonville, Florida, to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, to Geneva, Switzerland, to Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, to Savannah, Georgia. Her home was always open to all the family and to all her many devoted friends many of whom were initially friends of her children.
She will be missed but her deep respect and love for all people, no matter who or what they were, and her generous concern for all living things has been passed down to those she touched and will live in her family for generations to come.
Sally Coy was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames, the National Society of Magna Carta Dames, the West Chop Club and the Vineyard Haven Yacht Club. She was a long-time communicant of St. John's Episcopal Church in Savannah.
She is survived by: her brother Francis Huger McAdoo, Jr. of Oldwick, New Jersey; her sister Anne McAdoo Deford of Hydes, Maryland; her daughter Sheila Meldrim Coy of Missoula, Montana; her two sons Peter McAdoo Coy of Faber, Virginia, and Timothy Emerson Coy of Savannah; six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, anyone wishing to make remembrances may send donations to Save the Children (www.savethechildren.org) or the Green-Meldrim House Restoration Fund at St. John's Church, 1 West Macon Street Savannah.
--Savannah Morning News, April 14, 2013
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