Sally M. Sells

Sally M. Sells, 84, formerly of Galena, MD, and Forest Hill, MD, passed away peacefully on December 11, 2023, at Morningside House of Friendship in Hanover, MD, after a battle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma and Vascular Dementia.

Sally was born in Baltimore, the oldest daughter of the late John F. and Margaret M. (Strecker) Eckels. Sally graduated from Towson High School and attended Towson State Teachers College before doing clerical work at the General Adjustment Bureau, Shell Oil Company, and at the family business, Eckels Ice Cream Company in Baltimore. She wed Elmer C. Sells in 1959, and they were married nearly 50 years before Elmer’s passing in 2009. Sally was a member of Olivet United Methodist Church in her beloved town of Galena, MD.

Sally appreciated the simple things in life: her cat, crossword puzzles, a good tomato sandwich with lots of mayo. She loved chatting on the phone with her sisters and friends. She was an avid letter-writer, corresponding with her British and French pen pals for 70+ years. In earlier days, Sally took great pleasure in hanging her laundry outside to dry in the sun and admiring her favorite red geraniums planted in front of the home she loved. She enjoyed swimming and diving and vacationing in Ocean City, MD. Listening to music brought Sally much joy. She loved “Easy Listening,” her favorites being the Lettermen singing “Shangri-La” and anything by Burt Bacharach.

Although Sally was very much a homebody, she tolerated and maybe even enjoyed a little bit the many trips she and Elmer took in their RV seeing much of the country together over the years. Before that, Sally was a reluctant “First Mate” to Captain Elmer on the family’s cabin cruiser, boating on the Chesapeake Bay and taking a couple trips down the Delaware Bay and out into the Atlantic to Ocean City. She even caught a fish once but was a bit salty when Elmer got her a fishing rod for Christmas one year.

Sally’s family will miss her laughter and her ability to be downright silly, an adorable trait that many may not have known. She is survived by her two daughters: Cynthia S. Herbert (Tom Gunn) and Marjorie L. Repp (Brian), four grandchildren: Nicole Herbert, Kaylee Feen, Andrew Repp, and Austin Repp, and two sisters: Susan Eckels and Carol Willard.

A memorial service celebrating Sally’s life will be held on Saturday, January 20, 2024, at 11am at Schimunek Funeral Home, 610 W. MacPhail Rd, Bel Air, MD, with Pastor Kevin White of Olivet Church officiating. The family will receive visitors immediately before the service, beginning at 10am.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (www.lls.org), Olivet United Methodist Church, 115 S. Main St., Galena, MD 21635, or to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), where Sally was a volunteer for a time.