Sally Gavin See ’39

Gavin SeeSally Gavin See ’39 died on April 4, 2014. She was born on July 27, 1922 in Taunton, Massachusetts, the second of four daughters.

She was the niece of Sarah B. Whitaker, co-founder of the Northampton School for Girls. Sally graduated from Northampton School for Girls in 1939. Also graduates of NSFG, her sisters Phyllis Robinson and Caroline Arnold survive her; sister Mary Brenneman preceded her in death. Sally had four children: little Sally (Sarah Helen Seigel ’62 – deceased); Tess (Ellen Hope Durant ’64); Sheena (Pamela Hathaway See ’69); and Randy (Randolph Bartlett See ’75). She had six grandchildren: Michael Pitts(’91) and Eric Pitts; Phoebe and Poppy Durant; and Gloria and Rebecca See; and six great-grandchildren: Charlie and Crosby Pitts; Natalie and Perry Shen; and Harlow and Charlie Decunto.

Sally graduated from Smith College in 1943 and later received a Master’s Degree from the University of Virginia.

Sally married Charles Milton See on May 23, 1943. Charlie died in 1984. While Charlie served as a Marine in the Pacific Theater during WW II, Sally became a copywriter for Union Carbide in New York City. As a career military wife, Sally lived in North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, New Jersey and Maryland. Sally was a professional Girl Scout, a professor at the historically black college, Norfolk State, edited college textbooks, and later taught English and Writing at Evergreen Community College in California.

Sally retired in 1986, but remained active in community groups and began to fulfill her dream of traveling the world. She visited six continents. Preferring out-of-the way destinations, her trips included, among others, Africa, China, Turkey, the Galapagos, Indonesia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand.

Sally moved to Atlantic Beach, Florida in 1991 and to Cypress Village in 2009. She was active in book clubs, served on the Scholarship Committee, and mentored a Memoir Writing group.

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