Sallie Jane Clifford

     Sallie Jane Clifford, 76, of Nashua, N.H., passed peacefully on Sunday, February 5, surrounded by her loving family and caregivers at Aynsley Place Assisted Living facility, after a valiant battle with cancer.

     The ninth and youngest child in a large blended family, Sallie was born September 20, 1946, in Newton, Massachusetts, to Charles Roderick Clifford and Sadie Aletha (McMullin) Clifford. A lifelong learner, she graduated from Newton High School in 1964, attended classes at Boston College for medical transcription, and later took courses in flower arrangement and auto repair.

     Despite several childhood health challenges, including tuberculosis and encephalitis, and the loss of her father at the age of nine, Sallie developed a sunny and optimistic personality. As a teen, she grew flowers and vegetables in the family’s garden and cared for all sorts of family pets, including fish, rabbits, hamsters, and her beloved collies, Laddie and Laska.  She never met a dog she didn’t like, and they all loved her in return.

     Sallie was a woman of many interests, talents, and hobbies.  She had a beautiful singing voice; as a teen, the record player in her bedroom filled the house with popular music.  She sang in the youth choir at Trinity Episcopal Church in Newton. Later, she would sing solos and duets at weddings with her brother Bruce, or in the band at the Frontenac bar and grill, where she waitressed as a young woman.  In recent years she sang with the Silver Lining Chorus in Nashua. Sallie paired charm school manners with working girl attitude. She spent hours learning to do hair and makeup, and her coworkers and friends often paid her to cut, curl, and style their hair. Her personal appearance reflected her style – elegant yet unpretentious, jewelry pretty but inexpensive, hair and makeup perfect, nails shaped and painted. She was a talented cook and baker; one of her many side gigs was catering events and making wedding cakes for family and friends. Sallie loved flowers; in addition to landscaping her yard with beautiful plants and shrubs, she also made wedding floral arrangements for her nieces and friends. She never showed up for a holiday celebration without a personally created centerpiece.

     Sallie loved holidays and parties.  Her house was festively decorated for every holiday. She hosted many fourth of July cookouts at her home in Nashua, complete with homemade food, lawn games, and picnic fare for the fireworks. She was the life of the party and loved a challenge - at the McMullin family reunions in western Massachusetts, you could find her riding the zipline or strapped into the human gyroscope ride.

    Her natural mechanical abilities, enthusiasm for learning, and hard work ethic served her well throughout her life. Her first job during high school was at BF Goodrich, and later, she worked as a medical records transcriptionist. After taking classes on auto repair, Sallie did much of her own car maintenance.  At Polaroid, her attention to detail was so valued by its founder, Dr. Edwin Land, that he personally requested her assistance on multiple research projects. She eventually became a team manager and worked there until her retirement. But she didn’t stay retired long; she worked as a personal assistant for the renowned oncology researcher, Dr. Norman Zamcheck. They became good friends, and when Sallie was first diagnosed with cancer, he made sure that she received the best care available in Boston.

     Sallie loved bingo, lottery tickets, Foxwoods, traveling, socializing, and bargain hunting. She frequented the Dollar Store, Savers, yard sales, and even found treasures in the unwanted items section of the dump - and made them all look fancy.

     Sallie made friends wherever she went. Whether waitressing at the Frontenac, working at Polariod, traveling abroad with her sister Nancy, bowling in leagues, going to Foxwoods or bingo or even just the grocery store, Sallie never met a stranger.  She was thoughtful and generous; she always remembered her family and friends with birthday cards and Christmas cards. She faithfully placed flower arrangements on family graves every Memorial Day.  She was a wonderful aunt, happy to spend time with her nieces and nephews, who have fond memories of trips to the beach and other fun places.

     Sallie will be greatly missed by her sisters, Saundra (Richard) Stampfler of Groveland and Nancy Clifford of Newton, her brother, David (Marie) Clifford of California; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and numerous friends.  She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Donna, brothers Charles Clifford II, Malcolm Clifford, Wesley Clifford, and Noel Bruce Clifford.  The family would like to thank Hospice House of Merrimack NH, Aynsley Place of Nashua, and Senior Helpers of Southern New Hampshire for the wonderfully compassionate care they provided. 

Services will be held at 10 o’clock on Monday ,March 6 at the Newton Cemetery Chapel. 

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to the MSPCA Angell, 350 South Huntington Ave, Boston MA 02130, or to Senior Helpers of Southern New Hampshire, 62 Portsmouth Ave Suite 4, Stratham NH 03885.

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