Sarah 'Sally' Suddell, Longtime Northport Resident, Dead At 95

NORTHPORT, NY — Sarah "Sally" Suddell, a longtime Northport resident, died on March 27. She was 95.

Sally was preceded in death by her siblings James Hitchcock and Evelyn Benjamin. She is survived by her children: Janet Suddell (Lynn Voorhees), Laura Suddell Boyd (Bill Boyd), George Suddell (Mary Lampe Suddell) and her grandchildren: Julia Voorhees Martinez (Michael Martinez), Kyle Boyd (Kaia Jerde), Brooke Suddell Berardi (Derek Berardi), Nicholas Voorhees (Paige Scheckla) George R. Suddell, Scott Boyd, Eric Boyd and great-grandson, Cole Berardi.

At Sally's request, there will be no services.

"Her earliest memories were of the narrow, chaotic streets of 1920s colonialist Japan: the noisy street vendors, the shoppers wrapped in common kimonos and the pedestrians who often looked down with reproach upon the young American girl hurrying alongside her Amah-San, her Japanese nursemaid," her family stated.

Sarah Hitchcock Suddell was born in Nagasaki, Japan, on April 30, 1925. Her father, Henry Booth Hitchcock, was the city's American consul general and her mother, Sarah Johnston Hitchcock, a Smith College graduate, taught school while managing a busy household that served as home, school and American consulate.

Sarah, along with her two older siblings, lived in the isolated world of foreign service where all three learned to entertain the children of their parents' guests. They did this within the confines of a tall masonry garden wall or behind an upstairs screen where they'd giggle and spy on the lavish parties hosted below. Their playmates were the children of Russian, British, Danish and American officials.

At the time, Japanese Imperialism was expanding and as American and Japanese relations worsened, the family survived an assassination attempt after a bomb detonated on their home's front veranda, according to Suddell's family. No one was hurt by the blast or resulting fire, but certainly, Japan and Japanese culture would leave a lasting impression upon Sarah's life.

When Sarah was seven, her father died suddenly and the family relocated to Tokyo until her mother could arrange passage back to their New Jersey home. America was in the throes of the Great Depression, but the family adjusted to their new lifestyle over time.

Sarah enrolled in public school and later Syracuse University where she graduated with a bachelor's in fine arts. It was at Syracuse that "Sally" or "Sal," as she preferred to be called, met her future husband, Winston "Wynn" Suddell.

Wynn attended a house party hosted by her student co-op. He asked Sally to dance. He was handsome and made her laugh. More importantly, they both loved a Lindy Hop to Glenn Miller's "A String of Pearls." Later in life, she would remember Wynn, among other things, as her favorite dance partner.

After graduation, Sally held various jobs in Washington, D.C. She worked at the Pentagon to develop Cold War political illustrations that depicted Stalin's looming threat. She designed posters promoting WWII savings bonds, drew Heckle & Jeckle cartoons for Terrytoons and finally did commercial art for Lever Brothers on Madison Avenue.

Then in 1951, after a seven-year courtship, Sally and Wynn married in New York City's Little Church Around the Corner. In 1955, their first daughter, Janet, was born, then later their twins, Laura and George. It was then that the couple moved to the picturesque village of Northport to raise their growing family. Afterward, Sally would attend C. W. Post for graduate school to earn a teaching certificate in elementary art education, a fulfilling career that lasted more than 15 years.

In 1998, after Wynn passed away, Sally moved to her beloved Sarasota, Florida. It was there that she spent some of her happiest years. She did renderings for local real estate ventures and became active in the Crooked Creek HOA, at one point making and selling T-shirts to help finance their community pool renovations.

Sally cherished her Florida friendships and reminisced about Florida often, even after relocating to Montana where she stayed with her RN daughter, Laura, and son-in-law, Bill. She found great joy in her Crooked Creek Condo community and called it her Shangri-La.

Always known for her artistic talents, Sally will also be remembered for her sense of humor, love of books and nature, and her keen observation skills. She had a sincere interest in people and will be missed by all who knew her.