Sally Lou Kearney

(SALLY HOWARD, SALLY KEARNEY)

1934 - 2015

Sally Gorsegner (Sally Howard, Sally Kearny) passed from this earth on September 12, 2015 in central Florida where she had lived since relocating from Wisconsin in 1971. Sally Howard was born on January 11, 1934 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the second daughter of Lorn (Buck) and Marguerite (Mugs) Howard. She grew up in Mondovi, Wisconsin with her older sister Barbara and younger brother David. Later, she graduated from Mondovi High School and went on to attend the Wisconsin State College in Eau Claire where she majored in elementary education and was talented in the performing arts including chorus and the theater. It was there she met Everett Gorsegner and, in 1955, they were married and later moved to Loyal, Wisconsin to live and raise a family.

Sally will forever be remembered as a loving, giving and unselfish mother with a generous heart, a lighthearted playful soul and a disarming graceful vulnerability. To the world around her, she was a woman of stunning beauty – both inside and out – and was the embodiment of the innate dignity of an earlier time. Her ever present gratitude and thoughtfulness defined her. Our mother had a talent for finding, even creating, humor in strange places and in unconventional ways. She loved the waters of Lake Pepin and Mead Lake in Wisconsin, the beaches of Florida and an occasional rum & coke (“just one”). Early in life, she sustained a hearing loss. By example, she helped others to become better communicators and found new way to express herself through singing and as an avid reader and prolific writer of letters and short stories. She learned to “speak” through her eyes and her smile.

Sally was preceded in death by her husband, Everett, daughter, Pam and sister, Barbara Paton. She is survived by her brother David Howard (Wisconsin), son, Eric Gorsegner (Arizona) and daughters Lori Gorsegner (California) and Jenni Gorsegner (Florida). She is also survived by four grandchildren, Evan and Madison Rosenberg (Florida), Beth Klyszeiko and Deanna Gorsegner (Arizona), and great grandson Ethan Klyszeiko (Arizona).

Notes or condolences may be sent to Jenni Gorsegner on Facebook or to Eric Gorsegner at [email protected]. A private family memorial event is planned for a later time.

Arrangements under the direction of Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home, OVIEDO, FL.