SCARBOROUGH – Sally Ann (Rice) Newell, of Richmond, passed away on June 1, 2023, after a long illness. Sally was a fiercely independent Mainer who was always proud to march to the beat of her own drum.

Sally was born on July 17, 1949, in Orono and graduated from Deering High School in 1967 and graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 1983 with a B.A. in English. Throughout her life Sally had many interesting jobs including hair-dressing, bookkeeping, Respite Care Services, and selling loads of things on the internet.

What made Sally most interesting, however, were not her various career paths, but her personality and subsequent hobbies. These included gluing sea glass on absolutely everything, showing her award-winning Scottish Fold cats, reading anything she could get her hands on, creating wonderful paintings, diligently researching her family’s ancestry, and being the best quilter around.

For better (or worse), Sally was masterful at helping her kids develop their own eccentric interests. For her eldest daughter, Sally hand sewed 100 pink roses for what, in hindsight, was a truly hideous ’90s prom dress that was beloved at the time and supporting her youngest daughter’s interests in the performing arts by knitting 100 mittens for freezing marching band members.

Sally is survived by daughters Emily Newell of Deer Isle, Ellen Newell and daughter-in-law, Kate Cummings of Mountain Top, Pa.; sister, Susan, brother-in-law, Tom, and nephew Thomas Brown of South Portland and niece Sabrina Mitchell of Jackman; sister, Shirley Minster of Florida; and aunt Mary and uncle Bruce Corey of Portland.

Sally was predeceased by parents Richard and Edith Rice, brother-in-law, Donald Minster; nephew Matthew Brown; and Angus the Cat.

In lieu of flowers Sally would love for people to spread Maine Lupine seeds or plant Harry Lauder Walking Stick trees.

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