Obituary of Sarah Wood McCracken

Sarah Wood McCracken, “Sally” age 78, passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 12, 2020 from complications related to dementia. She resided at Atria Crossroads Place Memory Care in Waterford for the past year and a half, where she received extraordinary and compassionate care. Sally was the beloved wife of Robert F. McCracken of Niantic at 17 Whiting Farms Lane, 06357. She was born in New London on November 2, 1941 the daughter of Charles Bradley and Carolyn Horsfall Wood. She attended New London High School and then graduated from the Northfield School for Girls. She received her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Botany from Connecticut College in 1963. Sally married Robert McCracken, then in the US Navy Submarine Force, in 1963, and two children, Robert Jr and Margaret were born in 1964 and 1965. In 1981 she realized her lifelong ambition to become a Landscape Architect, receiving her Master’s Degree in LA from the City College of New York. After working for several LA firms in Washington DC, Chicago and New York City, she and Robert moved to Lyme, Connecticut in 1994. There she realized her second lifelong ambition, to become licensed and build her own Landscape Architecture practice which she did very successfully until 2016 when she retired. She was a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Sally was also a very active member of the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme where she designed and supervised the preservation of the church gardens, including a Memorial Garden where she will be interred. Sally also served on the church property committee and sang in the choir for 20 years. Her life was further enriched by taking professional voice lessons for many years, and she was an avid quilter. Besides her husband Bob, Sally leaves her children, Robert F. McCracken, Jr. and his wife Sinclair of ¬¬¬Poquoson, VA, and Margaret A. Barta and her husband Eric of Chandler, AZ, and her beloved grandchildren, Alexander E. Barta, Jordan A. Walters, Andrew R. McCracken and Kendall A. McCracken. She also leaves her brother, Charles B. Wood III of Cambridge, MA and his wife Mardges Bacon. A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme to be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions in Sally’s name may be made to the First Congregational Church of Old Lyme, 2 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, CT 06371. These memorial gifts will support the continued flourishing of the church gardens, as well as enhancing the church’s music ministry. To share a memory of Sally or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com. Arrangements are in the care of the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.