Sarah B. Mandel, 93, died at Hospice Savannah’s Hospice House on March 20, 2015. Shortly before her death, she told friends she was not very happy with the draft of her obituary. She pointed to the three-paragraph printout that outlined her long and productive career as a social worker, world traveler and volunteer. It’s just so dry, she said. I am trying to write an obituary that is not the usual, dull account. Something, she implied, as interesting as her long life has been.

A standard obituary doesn’t shed light on Sally. It doesn’t explain that Sally Mandel died under the care of the very same organization that professionally in 1978 she helped to set up as a different approach to end of life living. It was the same organization she had been serving as an administrative volunteer since her retirement 31 years ago from the United Way, the organization that had enlisted her help to care for an orphaned cat, Casey, through its Pet Peace of Mind© program. Casey, now 10 years old, was boarded and had visitation privileges with Sally at Hospice House right up until the end. Casey was re-adopted under Hospice Savannah placement services.

A standard obituary certainly doesn’t explain the steady stream of Hospice Savannah staff and volunteers who popped their heads into her room with a wave and a smile, or the steady stream of friends and acquaintances who came through the doors of Hospice House to bring treats and well wishes. It doesn’t explain that giving up her volunteer work was one of the hardest things she had to do.

Sally’s life was extremely productive until last spring when she was first taken ill. Up until then, she had been driving herself to her bi- weekly exercise class at the Island’s YMCA, her weekly lunch dates with the TATAs (a group of retired nurses and social workers), and her monthly luncheon get-togethers with the Birthday Club. She was a regular customer at the library and a member of the Live Oak Public Libraries’ Ola Wyeth Book Club. She attended the monthly Council on World Affairs programs and until recently she had been a member of the GPB advisory board. And, of course, every Thursday she would “report for duty” at Hospice Savannah’s administrative offices.

Although the decline in Sally’s health last spring slowed her down, it did not count her out. While she could no longer drive herself, she enlisted the help of a friend to get her to the luncheon dates, the library, and the grocery store. Unfortunately, in early February this year, Sally had a significant fall from which she just could not recover.

Sally moved to Savannah in 1974 as a social worker with the United Way, which served approximately 30 agencies at the time. I just love Savannah and the people here have been wonderful. She recounted that when she first arrived in Savannah she drove over the viaduct one morning and decided, This is really a great place to be. It didn’t take her long to realize she was home. In Savannah, she became an accomplished photographer, under the tutelage of the late Dr. John Earl.

Born in 1921 in Detroit, MI, Sally was the daughter of the late Almedia Beatty Mandel and Arch Mandel. She grew up in Dayton, OH and New York City. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1943 with a B.A. in Sociology. In 1961 she received a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Graduate School of Social Work at Boston College.

Sally worked for 12 years as a Red Cross Assistant Field Director with Service to Military Installations in the United States, Japan, and Germany. One of her more memorable assignments with the Red Cross was accompanying British war brides in 1946 across this country to their new homes often, to the dismay of their new families, before the military husbands arrived.

During her 22-year career with the United Way, Sally held positions in the areas of Planning and Allocations in Los Angeles, CA; Syracuse, NY; Montclair, NJ; and Savannah, GA. Traveling the world for work or with her good friend, the late Dr. Martha Fay, was important in Sally’s life.

Sally was a member of the National Association of Social Workers, elected Social Worker of the Year by the Southeast Georgia unit of NASW, and later served as chair. She was a member of the Board of the United Way Retirees Association for two terms; the Community Social Work Advisory Council at Savannah State University; the Savannah Symphony Women’s Guild; the American Association of University Women; the Savannah Photography Roundtable; and the Altrusa Club.

Sally was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Her ashes will be interred in Arundel Cemetery, Kennebunkport, ME. She leaves behind many, many friends who will keep her in their thoughts and hearts.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to Hospice Savannah, Inc., United Way of the Coastal Empire, and Savannah Friends of Music

Fox & Weeks Funeral Directors, Hodgson Chapel