- Date Of Birth: January 24, 1934
- Date Of Death: March 31, 2020
- State: Michigan
Sally Dolores (Martin) McNamara, born January 24, 1934, passed away at her home in Big Rapids on March 31, 2020, following a lengthy illness.
A kind and patient mother, Sally routinely beat her children – at golf, at one-on-one basketball in the driveway, and at tennis well into her 60s. She was a world-class tomboy who grew up in Dearborn, Michigan, the daughter of Algernon Frederick and Rose Mollie (Gloude) Martin. She had three brothers whom she adored, and the feeling was mutual.
On August 4, 1956, Sally married Jack McNamara in Dearborn on the day of the greatest flood in the history of Detroit at the time. Their marriage lasted nearly 59 years, until Jack’s death on June 18, 2015. True to her competitive spirit, Sally made note of the day she outlived Jack in January of this year. She apparently had won their final competition.
Sally was an excellent student who graduated Dearborn High School in 1952. She came to Big Rapids as a young mother when her husband joined the faculty of Ferris State University in 1962. Sally always put her growing family first, but she never let go of her dream of a college education. She graduated Ferris the same year her eldest daughter graduated high school, and she was an inspiration both to her family and to the non-traditional students she later would teach as a well-liked accounting instructor at Ferris.
Sally and Jack eventually enjoyed world travel to destinations such as Europe, Australia, and Hawaii, but they were equally fond of playing Friday afternoon golf for years with a cherished group of friends affectionately known by their collective children as “The Fossils.” To the surviving Fossils, the family extends our heartfelt gratitude for your decades of friendship to our parents, and for your devotion to Sally in her final years.
Sally is survived by three children who dearly loved and admired her: Susan (David Pasikov) of Boulder, Colorado; Martin of Big Rapids; and Nancy (Nicholas Pittler) of San Francisco. Six grandchildren, who found their grandmother hilarious for her quirky hubris and wry sense of humor, also survive: Brooke and Clayton McNamara of Grand Rapids; and Elyse, Paige, Devin, and Ava Rose McNamara-Pittler of San Francisco. Sally further is survived by her devoted brother, Leonard (Gaynell) Martin of Port Orange, Florida; her best friend and sister-in-law, Kathleen Betanzos of East Lansing; and by many nieces and nephews who made great memories with their Aunt Sal.
