This portrait of Sally Scott at 25 was painted by her future grandfather-in-law, John Folinsbee. It captures a lot of what characterized her energetic and “engaged” life for the next six decades. That life came to an end on Oct. 1, 2022 at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, with family and friends surrounding her.
Sally, the third of four children of Henry and Peggy Scott, was born in Boston in 1936. Her family lived in Amherst, Corpus Christi, Texas, and then, throughout her secondary school time, in Missouri, where her father taught art history at the University of Kansas City. She attended Smith College along with her sister Anne, graduating in 1958, before pursuing a master of education at Harvard. In 1960, she was hired to teach at a primary school in Pennington, N.J. During that year she lived on the Cook family farm in nearby Kingston, where her courtship with Peter Cook began. Sally and Peter were engaged in the spring of 1961, and married on Martha’s Vineyard that September.
The couple spent the next 10 years or so teaching and raising four children in Rhode Island, New Jersey, and France, before settling in the Boston area. Sally taught at many levels, from playschool in Lexington to graduate students from all over the world at the Boston University School of Social Work.
Being a member of a family involved in art, music, and theater on both sides, she loved all kinds of music, dance, and other art forms. She sang with the Island group the Uplanders in the 1950s. She and her sister Anne built a puppet theater, and performed often for children on- and off-Island. She encouraged her children and others to develop their artistic instincts, cheerleading their pursuits and accomplishments. Sally was an artist in her own right: She sang in choirs, she wrote (exuberant letters and an occasional Vineyard reminiscence), and she was an inspired culinary expert, in catering and in her own kitchen. Her lasagna, spanakopita, and apple crisp are legendary.
Sally’s connection to the Island goes back more than 75 years. Toward the end of World War II, her father, a U.S. Navy officer, was assigned to the Naval Air Station, now the MVY Airport. At that time, the Scott family lived through the winter in Vineyard Haven. In the spring of 1945, the Scotts bought the century-old farmhouse on South Road in Chilmark. This house became the family hub in summers until 1971, when Sally’s father retired from teaching and Peggy and Henry became year-round residents.
Sally and Peter moved to Chilmark as permanent residents in 2015, first in the family home and then able to build their own house just up the hill. Sally immediately became involved in community work as a member of the Cemetery Commission in Chilmark, and a Friend of the Up-Island Council on Aging.
Sally deeply loved the Island and its people. She marveled at the changes at Lucy Vincent. She adored the Sunday morning swim ritual with family at Menemsha, walks at Polly Hill, and teatimes or dinners with friends and family at home. She was one of those who would stop by, give you a call, or bring you some comfort food in a time of need.
She is survived by her husband Peter, and their four children and two grandchildren: daughters Annie (born on the Island), Elizabeth, and Caitlin, son Peter, Liz’s daughter Alexandra, Caitlin’s daughter Maeve, Liz’s husband John Lenthall, and Caitlin’s husband Calder Martin; Sally’s sister Anne Scott McGhee, Anne’s daughter Elizabeth McGhee, Sally’s brother Jonathan, his wife Marie Fischer, five Scott children (Jonathan, Malia, Joshua, Andrea, and Nathaniel), their spouses, and their combined 10 children. She was predeceased by her brother Henry E. Scott III, known as “Hank,” and her adopted brother George Alley.
Sally also leaves behind extended family members and friends from the Boston area to Maine, New York, Seattle, and around the world, including France, England, Switzerland, Italy, and New Zealand.
A memorial is planned for Nov. 12 in Chilmark.
