Sally Upham Hays

Sally Upham Hays died peacefully on June 5, 2024. Born July 15, 1937, Sally graduated from Metairie Park Country Day School in 1954. She attended Goucher College and graduated from Newcomb College in 1958. She received an MBA from Tulane University in 1981.

Sally was brilliant and had a long and successful career as a nonprofit leader and professional consultant. She held many management positions, including Executive Vice President of the Metropolitan Area Committee, Vice President for Programs for the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Executive Director of the Greater New Orleans Nonprofit Knowledge Works. She also worked as an organizational development consultant with The Crescent Group, helping local and national nonprofits. Sally was named one of 50 “People to Watch in 1985” by New Orleans Magazine and one of “10 Women in Business to Watch” by City Business in 1987.

Sally had an adventurous spirit. Just after college, she moved to New York City and took a job with Time Magazine as a clipper in their “morgue,” cutting out articles to save for their library. When she turned 40, Sally decided to go back to school to get her MBA. Throughout her life, Sally loved to travel and kept a proverbial suitcase and hat by the door so she was ready for any opportunity. In her 70s, she signed up for Semester at Sea, and spent three months circumnavigating the globe while taking classes with college students and other “life-long learners” like herself.

Community service was important to Sally. She served on the board of the Junior League of New Orleans and received the Sustainer of the Year award in 1993. She also served on the Board of the New Orleans Council on Young Children in Need and the Advisory Council for the College of Business at Southern University at New Orleans. She was a member of the Governor’s Committee for the Improvement of Educational Leadership in the State of Louisiana, and served on the Development Committee for the Housing Authority of New Orleans.

Sally had a sharp wit and a well-developed sense of the ridiculous that helped her, and everyone around her, find humor in the most difficult of circumstances. She was kind and generous with her time, and the joy she found in life was contagious.

Sally was preceded in death by her parents John Darr Upham and Marjorie Tolhurst Upham, her sisters Jane Darr Upham and Susan Upham Gayle, and her brother-in-law Dr. Woodruff Asbury Banks. She is survived by her daughters Catherine Hays Downs (Andrew) and Lee Upham Hays, and by her grandchildren Harrison Montgomery Downs, William Balfour Downs, and Elizabeth Tolhurst Downs. She is also survived by her sister Marjorie Upham Banks, her brother-in-law William Gedge Gayle, and her beloved nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank Sally’s wonderful caregivers Noritza Bravo, Terry Williams, Terri Harris, Laura Deshotel School, Patrice Adams, and many others.

A memorial service will be held on June 13, 2024, at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 2216 Metairie Road. Visitation begins at 10:30 am, followed by services at 11:30 am and a reception at the Southern Yacht Club. A private interment will be held in Texas at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Youth Empowerment Project, the Newcomb Institute, or the Junior League of New Orleans.