Sally Wirz Garvey Obituary (1940 - 2025)

Richard (dick) Horton '60 said:

Sally's obituary
Sally W. Garvey, 84, formerly of Manlius, New York, Topsham, Maine and Yardley, Pennsylvania, passed away peacefully on March 17, 2025.

Born on April 14, 1940, to Mary and Alfred Wirz in Kenmore, New York, Sally was a graduate of Kenmore West High School and Deaconess Hospital Nursing School, in New York. During high school, she worked as a receptionist in the office of a local chiropractor, Howard Zaeringer.

She met her husband, William “Bill” G. Garvey, an Air Force officer, at Kenmore Presbyterian Church in 1958. They were married in 1960. Throughout Bill's career with the United States Air Force and NATO, they traveled the country and the world, raising two children along the way. Sally was proficient in German and French; she also studied Italian with her husband at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. The family made many moves, both domestic and international. Sally and Bill were stationed in Schenectady, NY and Sweetwater, TX. Other moves took them to Naples Beach, FL; Misawa, Japan; Bellefontaine, OH; Fulda, Germany; Phoenix, AZ; Monterey, CA; Rome, Italy; Syracuse, NY; and Kaiserslautern, Germany before their retirement in Manlius, New York. Sally and Bill loved to explore the world and instilled in their children a deep appreciation for travel, adventure, and other cultures.

Sally had a keen creative eye and a bright green thumb. Sally was not only a highly talented painter, art afficionado, seamstress and craftsperson, she was also a passionate gardener, cultivating an abundance of beautiful flowers and vegetables everywhere she lived. At her retirement residence in Manlius, NY, she would hold an annual open house of her extensive garden, an event that grew progressively more popular over time, attracting many gardening aficionados from the area and around the region. A courageous breast cancer survivor, Sally dedicated 15 years to volunteer service at the SUNY Upstate Medical Center breast clinic in Syracuse, NY, where she provided support to patients and assisted the medical staff. She was also an avid reader and ornithology enthusiast; she was a bird species counter for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Sally was predeceased by her beloved husband, Bill Garvey, and her brother, David Wirz. She is survived by her daughter, Cheilaugh Garvey and her son-in-law, Stephen Vardy, of Yardley, PA; her son, Michael Garvey and her daughter-in-law Jennifer Cartwright Garvey of La Crosse, WI; and all her grandchildren: Fiona C. Vardy of Newport, RI; Gemma V. Foster and her husband, Stephen Foster, of Queens, NY; Daniel Garvey of Baltimore, MD; Cooper W. Vardy of Lexington, VA; David F. Garvey of Laurel, MD; Maximilian Q. Garvey of La Crosse, WI; and Danica Z. Garvey of La Crosse, WI.

Sally’s private burial service will be held at Arlington National Cemetery.