Sally Cross Horne

TOPSHAM – Surrounded by her children and grandchildren, Sally Cross Horne, 78, passed away peacefully on Aug. 7, 2024, at The Highlands, in Topsham.

Sally was born in Greenfield, Mass. to Prentice and Elizabeth (Olsen) Horne. She passed her childhood in Deerfield, Mass., and her high school years in Plainfield, N.J., before graduating in arts and English from Wilson College, in Chambersburg, Pa.

Sally worked in the education and publishing industries and later became a certified massage therapist, but her lifelong passion was training, riding and showing horses, an avocation that led her to establish farms in Vermont and then in Woolwich. She won ribbons at horse shows throughout New England, and in her later years became an expert trainer in the equestrian art of dressage.

Sally was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Brunswick, where she served on the Capital Campaign Committee, raising money to rebuild the church after a devastating fire. She was also a member of the Pastoral Care Team.

Choral music had been a passion of Sally’s throughout her adult life. She was a member of the Midcoast Community Chorus as well as the UUCB choir. She sang solos at weddings and funerals for families and friends.

Marriage to Henry “Hank” Conklin in 1968 led to the birth of their children, Todd Henry Conklin of Jackson Hole, Wyo., and Kelly Elizabeth (Conklin) Brochu of Bath. Hank’s career in the paper and pulp industry required moves that took the family from Durham, N.H.; to Ashland, Maine; Hattiesburg, Miss.; and Sandy Hook and Newtown, Conn. They summered on Islesboro, in Maine.

Sally is survived by Todd and Kelly, Todd’s wife, Claire; and also by five grandchildren, Jacob, Maxon and Shealyn Brochu and Olivia and George Conklin; her siblings Jed Horne and Carole Boyd, also survive her; as does her dear friend of many years, Steve Black of Orr’s Island.

Sally’s parents and brother, Jim Horne, predeceased her.

A memorial service is planned at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 1 Middle St., Brunswick, on Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. Please visit FuneralAlternatives.net to leave condolences.