Obituary of Sarah S. Guilford

Sarah Safford Guilford, known to many as “Sally,” died on January 9, 2018.  Born in the college town of Potsdam in northern New York, she was the third of five children of Wilhelmina Emerson Safford and Edwin Ruthven Safford, Jr.

She attended the College of William and Mary in Virginia and then the Potsdam State Normal School, now SUNY at Potsdam, where she received a teaching certificate.  Sally moved to Cheshire in April 1941 as the bride of the late Burton M. Guilford to whom she was happily married for 62 years.  Her love of children was expressed through teaching Sunday school at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and through substitute teaching in the Cheshire school system.  She enjoyed bridge with friends, bowled for many years in a women’s league, and worked as a volunteer with the Red Cross and other organizations.  She and Burt loved to travel and took several memorable trips together.

Sally was a passionate lover of music and art, and from an early age was an avid reader of history and literature.  She enjoyed with her siblings and many cousins a deep appreciation of the family genealogy.  In addition to sharing this knowledge with her children, she passed on to them wonderful stories of her childhood, including the discovery with her sister Nell of a fairy ring on their grandmother’s New Brunswick farm during a summer visit.  She recounted Thanksgivings at a great-uncle’s farm where relatives brought instruments and played music after dinner.  Most memorably, she described the North Country winter cold as so profound “you could hear it!”

Sally is survived by her children Sarah M. Guilford (William Miniscalco) of Sudbury, MA, Philip M. Guilford (Karen Larkin) of Cheshire, and Meredith Sturges (John) also of Cheshire; grandchildren William Guilford (Hilary), Michael Guilford (Karina), Stephanie Augier (Whitaker), Jeremy Tripp (Kaleena), Emma Miniscalco, Nathalie Paquette (Gregory), and Ellie Garcia; and great-grandchildren Pearce, Elle, and Tripp Augier, Conor and Jorja Guilford, and Poppy Rose Tripp.  She is also survived by many nieces and nephews.  She was predeceased by her sisters Elizabeth Safford, Cornelia Zapp, and Eleanor Rees, and by her brother Edwin R. Safford, III.

The family expresses thanks for the kindness of staff who loved and cared for their mother at Elim Park throughout her stay there.  Sally will always be remembered for her beautiful blue eyes, ready smile, and kind words.

A memorial service will be held at a later date.  Donations in her memory can be made to St. Peter’s Church, 59 Main Street, Cheshire, CT 06410, or to the Crane School of Music, 44 Pierpont Avenue, Potsdam, NY 13676.