Sarah Ann Molloy, “Sally,” 75, passed away peacefully in her sleep in her home in Santa Fe, N.M., on August 1.  Sally was born in Rockville Center, NY, and raised in an extended family in Haverstraw, NY.  She lived with her beloved Aunt Anne McCabe after both of her parents died.  After graduating from Simmons College in 1956, Sally spent a year in Vienna, Austria, helping to resettle refugees from the Hungarian Revolution.   After returning to New York City, she worked for a short time in the Personnel Department of The New York Times.
     She married Benjamin F. Crane (now a retired partner of the law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP) on February 8, 1959, after a whirlwind courtship. They celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2009 surrounded by family and many friends from their years together. They settled in Brooklyn Heights, and eventually had a home in Cold Spring, N.Y., as well as in Santa Fe. 
       Sally was actively involved on the boards of many charitable institutions, getting her start as the President of the Junior League of Brooklyn.  She went on to serve for many years on the boards of Planned Parenthood of New York City (including one term as President), the Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Trinity School in Manhattan (which her children attended), the Brooklyn Heights Association, Colony-South Brooklyn Houses, the New York Women’s Foundation, and Simmons College, her alma mater, where from 2000-2004 she co-chaired a hugely successful fundraising campaign.  Simmons granted her an honorary doctorate in public service, and she established a scholarship fund at the college for students in need. 
       Sally had an exceptional gift for making friends and for helping others through her work and philanthropy.  She was also the organizing force for keeping together the extended McCabe-Molloy clan.  Everywhere she spent time and lived, Sally gathered new and old friends together and participated actively in the local scene.  With her radiant smile and beautiful blue eyes, Sally was a force of nature, combining fun, humor, vigor, intellect, inspiration, warmth, and a passionate love for life.  Her passing leaves a gaping hole in many interconnected worlds and in so many hearts.
       In addition to the love of her life, Ben, she is survived by her sister, Catherine Molloy, CND, of Kumbo, Cameroon, her son Michael and wife Kate of London, England, her daughter Betsy of Denver, Colorado, her daughter Susan and partner Karen Newman, also of London, and seven grandchildren, all of whom cherished her and loved her dearly.
       In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made in Sally’s honor to Planned Parenthood of New York City or the Sarah Molloy Crane ’56 Scholarship Fund at Simmons College in Boston.  The family is planning to hold a memorial service in New York City in the fall to celebrate Sally’s life; please check www.memorialebook.com [Sarah Ann Molloy Crane] for details as they become available.

Behind The Story

Type: Obituary

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