Sarah “Sally” (Yarnall Means) Loring passed away peacefully Friday, December 15, 2023 at Brooksby Village in Peabody.
Born in Hartford, CT, to Helen Keen (Crowell) Means of Riverton, NJ and James MacGregor Means, Boston, MA, Sally grew up in the family home “Meadow Ledge” built by her grandfather in Manchester, MA. She attended Story High School in Manchester, MA, St. Mary’s in Peekskill, NY and graduated from Beaver Country Day School ’46. Her Beaver yearbook praised the “vitality and vigor” that was to serve her so impressively throughout her long energetic life: “Sally bounced into Beaver last year and has never yet failed to amaze us with her pep.”
Sally met George “Gid” Gardner Loring in 1945 at a school party at Milton Academy. She attended two years at Radcliffe and upon Gid’s graduation from Harvard, they married on June 21, 1949. The couple settled in Manchester and raised four children.
In 1968 Sally & Gid found their “dream cottage” on Seal Bay on Vinalhaven Island in Maine, where they summered until 2016 enjoying the birds, sailing, rowing, kayaking and spending time with their children, grandchildren and friends.
Sally loved people and organizing. She was active in many organizations in Manchester and on the Northshore. She was a board member of the Peabody Essex Museum with a special interest in American Decorative Arts; president and curator of the Manchester Historical Society; “founding mother” of the North Shore Nursery School in Beverly Farms; founding member and president of Seaside Garden Club; a Girl Scout Leader; committee member at the First Parish Unitarian Church & Sunday School in Beverly; member of Manchester Woman’s Club, founding member of Manchester Elder Sisters; member of the Friends of the Council on Aging; and a proud PFLAG mother. She sang in the choir at the First Parish Unitarian Church in Beverly for over 30 years.
In 2009 Sally and Gid left their beloved Manchester and moved to Brooksby Village Senior Living Community in Peabody where she lived until her death. Sadly, her last years were shadowed by Alzheimer’s Disease.
Sally was predeceased by her husband, Gid (August 2023) and son George Gardner Loring, Jr. (July 2019). She is survived by three daughters and their spouses: Helen Crowell Loring (Ruth S Roper), Laura Hammond Loring and Susan Bailey Loring (Martin J Wells), and five grandchildren: Sarah Lazarewicz, Minneapolis, MN; Alex Loring Courchene, Cumberland, RI; Julia Wells, Tampa, FL; Hannah Wells, San Francisco, CA; Kayla Wells, Redwood City, CA. She is dearly missed by all.
The family is grateful to Sally’s caregivers at Brooksby Village as well as Care Dimensions Hospice service for their loving care and attention during her last years.
A memorial gathering is planned for Sally & Gid on June 21, 2024 which would have been their 75th wedding anniversary, at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 705 Hale Street, Beverly Farms from 2pm to 5 pm. Relatives and friends are invited to attend. Contributions may be made in Sally’s memory to Planned Parenthood of Massachusetts, Manchester Historical Society or Peabody Essex Museum. Arrangements by the Campbell Funeral Home, 525 Cabot Street, Beverly. Information, directions, condolences at www.campbellfuneral.com.
