Sally Alderson was born on Jan. 15, 1925, in Baltimore to Margaret Dunning Belt and John Belt. She died in Blacksburg on July 18, 2021, after 96 years of love and service.
Sally was kind, generous, artistic, and creative. She supported and encouraged all family members and attended all of the track and cross-country meets of her granddaughters with a plate of homemade brownies for the team. She made and shared ceramics and many kinds of needlework and crafts. She was a Master Gardener, a Girl Scout leader, and a Cub Scout den mother who knew the equivalent of le mot juste for clothing design, sewing lovely clothes for almost everyone in the family and for some international friends. She also enjoyed camping and sailing.
She was a charter member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Va., where she organized the children’s choir, taught children’s Sunday school classes, sang in the adult choir, and was active in the Women of the Church.
She was predeceased by her husband of 71 years, William Alderson; her sister, Margaret Peccianti; and her brother, J. Robert Belt.
She is survived by her children, Robert Alderson and Mary Lee Hendricks with her husband, William; her granddaughters and their families: Elizabeth Alderson, Margaret and David Krell, parents of Linda and Daniel; and Sarah Hendricks and Oscar P. Hurtado-Gonzales, parents of Cristina, Alice, and W. Alexander; and Mary and Daniel Jaasma, parents of Micha and Eliana; and four nieces.
The family thanks Warm Hearth, LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, the rescue squad, and medical transport for their kind and competent healthcare. Contributions in Sally’s memory may be made to Blacksburg Presbyterian Church (701 Church Street, Blacksburg 24060) or to the Blacksburg Interfaith Food Pantry.
A service of worship and in celebration of Sally’s life will take place on Aug. 14 at 3 p.m. at Blacksburg Presbyterian Church.
