Sally Sessions Culton
Sally Sessions Culton, 78, of Plant City, died March 4, 2016 after a brief but courageous battle with pancreatic and liver cancer.
She was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana December 27, 1937, to the late Herbert and Juanita Sessions. She grew up and attended schools in York, Maine and, after graduating from York High School with honors, attended Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
Sally married her husband in 1959 and accompanied him on their many assignments over 28 years in the United States Air Force. She set up homes and managed relocations 17 times during their Air Force career and assisted him in her role as an officer’s wife and partner.
While she jokingly referred to herself as an “Air Force Camp Follower,” she was so much more than that. She gave up her own educational and career goals to make being a dedicated and loving wife and mother her lifelong career and passion.
In retirement, she continued her love of new adventure and travel by visiting all 50 states and 32 foreign countries.
She hated flying, but loved cruising and road trips. Her two most memorable road trips were a drive up the Inter-American Highway from Panama to the U.S with her husband and two small children and a 10,000-mile round trip from Plant City to northern Alaska in a small Toyota Prius.
She was a brilliant and multitalented woman whose art work has become part of her family’s heritage. She was a lifelong bridge player and a trivia expert to the extent that the family referred to her as our resident Google. Although she preferred to stay in the background, her intelligence, sensitivity and caring nature drew people to her, and she became the person to whom friends and family turned for a kind ear and sound counsel for their troubles. She will always be remembered as a beautiful and special person who treated everyone with kindness and who left a positive influence on the lives of those who knew and loved her.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 57 years, Colonel Robert E. Culton; daughters, Erica Bozeman (John) and Tracey Fortier (Timothy); sister, Cecelia James; nephew, Mark Roberson; nieces, Kathy Rooks (Neal), Jennifer Hardin (David), Sarah Larsen (Keith), Janice James, Jill Culton and Laura Druey; brother-in-law, Dr. David H. Culton; grandchildren, Noelle Mustin (Michael) and Timothy and Jeffrey Fortier; and great-grand children, Bradley and River Mustin. All the members of her family shared a special place in her heart.
A celebration of Life was held March 10, at the Walden Lake Golf and Country Club.
