Sally Joan Morehouse

Sally Joan Kirby Morehouse was born in Denver, Colorado on October 11, 1930 to Zola and Roy Kirby. She was the best of both her parents - sweet, kind and loving like her Mother, and gregarious and fun loving like her Father-always up for a practical joke with a twinkle in her eye.

She was adventurous. She had a zest for life and dive headfirst into learning and experiencing it. As a young woman she became obsessed with bullfighting. She dreamed of becoming a matador. Sally chased her matador dream and went on a long trip to Europe with her college friend. Their home base was in Paris, at a writer’s apartment, which was infested with bedbugs. Sally didn’t let that bother her. She just slept in stockings and carried on. On this trip, she traveled to Spain to learn how to cape a bull. An impractical woman at times, Sally decided to wear a tight pencil skirt that went below the knee, that was fashionable, but not the best thing to wear when trying to cape a bull. At any rate, she paired up with a dark and handsome doctor in the ring. When the bull charged, panic set it and she ran the other way forgetting that bulls are attracted to movement, and not the red cape. And that was the end of her bullfighting dreams.

Sally moved on. She became engaged to be married, but promptly broke off the engagement after meeting a dark and handsome man named Charlie Morehouse who was stationed at the Air Force base in Colorado Springs, but was originally from Jacksonville. They married after 3 months of dating. They had a daughter and a son, who were raised in Jacksonville. Sally stayed home with her children and their assortment of wild animals. Sally raised 2 children, a basset bound, a poodle, a monkey, and a rooster who lived in the garage.

Sally’s second career was at the school board, where she met many lifelong friends. Her special friend (and almost son), Bill Madden, called her every day since meeting her at the school board 40 years ago.

Sally passed away peacefully in her daughter’s home the morning of August 14th. Some of her last words were of being grateful for her family and expressing how much she loved them and how lucky she was. When her husband, Charlie, passed away she was the one who noticed the pennies from heaven that he left behind for her and took them as a symbol of his love. She was always looking for signs of love and recognizing and acknowledging it. She’d see a heart in two leaves stuck to the sidewalk in the rain. Whenever she looked to the sky, she’d see a heart in the clouds. She’d see the word “love” spelled out in the soggy pieces of crisped rice cereal sticking just so to the side of her breakfast bowl and shellacked them to the side to remember that morning forever. Sally focused her life on seeing the love and good in life. She lived a life of love and kindness towards all living things.

She loved the Rocky Mountains and ice-skating and sunflowers and painting and fairies and gnomes and story-telling and letter writing and Scrabble and language and learning and traveling and roses and scallops and Evan Williams and Tony Bennett and orchids and fall and ice cream and parties and April Fools’ Day and music and rainbows and American Indians and Ireland.

But most of all, she loved her family and her friends, all of whom loved her too and will miss her dearly.

She is survived by her daughter Michele Harrell (John), son Thomas Kirby Morehouse (Donna), grandchildren Beth Harrell, Katy Harrell, Danielle Morehouse, Hannah Turman (Andrew), and great grandchild Wesley Morehouse Turman.

The family would like to thank her caregiver, Jeanne Marchadie, for adding so much to her final years and to Community Hospice for their excellent care and support which enabled Sally to be in her daughter’s home her final weeks.