Sally Jo Dale

Sally Jo Dale, daughter of Helen and Ralph Dale passed away on October 21st 2025. But, more importantly, the day she was born, April 9th, 1961 (which we were never allowed to forget as she frequently and relentlessly reminded her siblings each year as the day approached). Known to her family as Sally or Sally Jo or Sa Jo or just plain Sa. She was a Down Syndrome child, born into a family of three brothers, Andy Dale, Scott Dale, and Jim Dale yet was never treated differently, never coddled – the same expectations held true for her.

Her father passed away when she was very young and her mother eventually remarried Joe Armstrong. At that time, she gained another 3 brothers, Fred, Carl, and Casey Armstrong and one sister, Beth. All sibs to be met equally with a joyous hug and a cry of ‘My brudder’ or ‘My seester’ when walking in the door.

She was easy to make laugh as we feigned a painful injury by purposely bumping a knee or elbow against a table or tripping into a wall and then begin groaning in mock pain – nothing could set her off in uncontrollable laughter as those antics and the more we mugged it up the more she couldn’t stop, unable to catch her breath.

She loved playing her records, especially country songs. And in truth she had the most out-of-tune voice on the planet, yet she sang joyfully and uninhibited while we covered our ears. On Sally’s 18th birthday, her mom rented the top floor of what was then Zachariah’s Red Eye Saloon on The Ohio State campus and threw a party for her – and it was some party, dancing to McGuffey Lane!

She cracked us up with her no-nonsense directness – for instance once while having dinner at her sister’s house, after being served homemade mashed potatoes, rolls and pork chops, she glanced at the plate and without a moment’s hesitation, looked up at said sister and questioned, “What no gravy?” To which, said sister got to work on the gravy.

One memorable visit to Montana on a family vacation, she rode in the Red Lodge 4th of July parade – when her friend Jack Hanna stopped the parade, motioning and yelling over to Sally and her two young nephews to come join him in his official parade car. It made her day, she has that photo and it was proudly displayed in any home she subsequently lived in.

Sally attended The Arc of Ohio where she learned life skills before beginning her career at Friendship Village. She worked for the next 30 years before finishing her career at Worthington Christian Village in 2019. She enjoyed interacting with the residents and her fellow workmates and was very proud of her many work awards and always eager (some might say insistent) on showing those awards to any and all.

Moving into a group home in 2002, she made many good and long-lasting friendships over the last 23 years, both with her fellow residents and with staff. Special recognition, appreciation and thanks to the army of caregivers who came to love her as we did. Your nurturing, kindness, grace, and dedication guided Sally through her adult years, allowing her to achieve the independent life she desired. Sally was also fortunate to have 2 wonderful roommates, Sebine and Kathryn, who became more like sisters, they truly had a special bond. We are grateful to these women and their families for everything they did with and for Sally over the many years.

Sally Jo lived a wonderful life, full of friendships, travels and adventures. She was curious, productive and creative. She went to dances and participated in dance recitals, bowled weekly, took art lessons, went out to dinner (shrimp was her thing), and loved ‘Ladies Day’ which entailed spending the day getting dressed up, having manicures before shopping and lunch. She loved pumpkin painting, loved to color in her coloring books, adored going to amusement parks, but above all she loved her varied families - her group home family, her work family, her Dale/Armstrong family. However, above all she loved her mother, Helen. May they find comfort in one another’s arms.

A gathering to celebrate Sally Jo's life will be held on Tuesday, October 28, 2025 from 4:00 - 7:00pm at Schoedinger Worthington.