Sarah Crosby Smith, known as Sallie, died in Fairhope, Alabama on Oct. 27, 2023, after a long illness. Sallie and her husband Andrew (Sandy) Smith were college sweethearts who settled in Wilmington, Delaware, where they raised their two children and where Sallie worked as a teacher and school administrator. She graduated from Randolph Macon Woman’s College and received her master’s degree from the University of Delaware. Sallie’s parents instilled in her a strong belief in the value of education and Sallie was a lifelong learner and gifted teacher. She was awarded the Adult and Community Educator of the Year Award from the State of Delaware, the Reading Achievement Award from the International Reading Association, and she served as President of the Nursery Kindergarten Association of Delaware.
When they retired to Baldwin County in 2004, Sallie started a tutoring business under the name Unlocking Potential, and she found great satisfaction working individually with her clients and their families. She then turned much of her energy to volunteering. She was involved in Family Promise, she helped start Read Aloud Baldwin, and she organized a special celebration for Read Aloud Bay Minette. She was deeply involved in the beginnings of the Hope Community in Fairhope and the Coal Ash Action Group in Baldwin County. Her husband Sandy staunchly supported her in all her efforts, and their lifelong love enabled both of them to thrive as they pursued their respective passions.
Sallie’s focus was on connecting people in search of our common humanity, and in seeking to deepen our understanding and compassion for one another. This ardent effort was an outgrowth and demonstration of her deep faith. She loved her family, Mobile Bay, country music, her many friends, including her hiking group of intrepid college friends, and all God’s people.
Sallie was preceded in death by her parents, J.R. and Sarah Crosby, and her brother Ray Crosby.
She is survived by her husband, Sandy Smith; her son, Dr. Andy Smith (Kristin); her daughter, Sarah Chapman (Richard); her grandchildren, Chapin Smith Whetstone (Morgan), Andrew Smith, Jack Smith, Crosby Chapman, and Owen Chapman; and her siblings, Martha Crosby, Sam Crosby (Ann), Anne Williams (Miller), and Eleanor Lanier (Sam).
Sallie’s memorial service will be held at Saint James Episcopal Church in Fairhope, Alabama at 11:00 AM on Friday, November 10th with a reception to follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her honor to Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. of Baldwin County.
