Sally Stratford will always live in the hearts of my family. She was such a special human being…and how we miss her here on earth. Life was just one big party for her. She loved absolutely everyone no matter their station in life.
1. I remember the stories of her making a delicious lunch for her cleaning lady and would have her sit down at the table to enjoy it.
2. She had far more things to do than make sure her house was neat and orderly. She claimed that if anyone broke into the house to rob it, they would look around and be convinced that someone had already been there.
3. Her impersonations of her husband were hilarious. She would put on a bald head hat, a suit and carry a attache case. She would mimic his praying by signing off with “Sincerely Yours, RCS.”
4. Her driving technique was memorable. She once had my son in tow as she raced down the very curve filled hill in Belaire to get to the post office before the deadline to pay their taxes with Ty hanging on for dear life, even crossing himself in case that would help them survive.
5. One of most endearing qualities was when you conversed with her, she gave you her complete attention. She never lost eye contact or stop to answer a ringing phone. She was totally yours and she always had valuable advice whenever it was desired.
6. Once after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with all of the family, my mother and father-in-law were off to Hawaii. Sally gave them a gorgeously wrapped bon voyage gift with instructions not to unwrap it until they were over the ocean. Eagerly they were able to open it only to find the turkey carcass from the Thanksgiving dinner.
She and Dick were very close to my husband’s parents inasmuch as her romance with began with them taking care of Sally when she came to Portland to be wooed by Dick. Every Christmas was spent together and always followed a schedule.
When Cal and Ralph Stratford’s son, Ralph Jr., decided to wed, Sally cooked up the perfect scheme for the wedding night. She told Cal that she was concerned that his bride, yours truly, would be scared to death about that occasion and that she felt it important to provide him with a pair of pajamas (which he never wore) so that I would be less frightened. To slow down the activities of the evening she sewed the pant legs of the pajamas closed with very small stitches. How she loved a practical jokes.
Sally was one in 10,000 trillion!
Marla Stratford
Sally Stratford 