Longtime Urbana resident Sarah Imogene Macy Slack, 93, died at Elmcroft of Xenia on Nov. 11, 2020. She was a fiercely loving mother and grandmother — the glue of her family — with a feisty sense of humor that persisted into her final days.
She was predeceased by her husband, Theodore W. Macy Jr., who died in 1983. Her second husband, Eugene C. Slack, died in 2000 after giving Sarah the ten happiest years of her life, leaving her love notes tucked into nooks and crannies of their Kettering home and giving her anything her heart desired.
Those left to cherish her memory are her children, Teresa Vigus (John), Emily Arthur (Ralph), Tim Macy (Phyllis), and Beth Macy (Tom Landon); grandchildren Katie Sparks (Troy), Liza Mercer (Volney), Sara Bogner, Michelle Macy (Kirk Hawrysio) and Tony Macy (Samantha), Max Landon, and Willis Landon; and great-grandchildren Aaron and Josh Stradling, Douglas Bogner, Macy Washburn, and Reis, Ashton, Sylas, Jaxon, and Grady Macy.
Born on May 18, 1927, in Dayton, Sarah was the daughter of Sally Ruth Bowlin and Charles Albert Real. She was predeceased by her sister, Shirley Kissell, and brother, Jack Real.
Known as Imy for much of her life, Sarah worked at Grimes Manufacturing in Urbana and test drove cars for Transportation Research Center in East Liberty. She loved fishing, playing cards, reading novels, growing flowers, and playing with babies. She made the best fried chicken and pot pie, and could recite bawdy Irish beer toasts long after dementia took hold. Known as “Jitterbug” at Roosevelt High School, from which she graduated in 1945, she was a great dancer (with great legs), and at her 90th birthday party she kicked higher than anyone else to Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.”
The extended family wishes to thank special super-caregivers Terry Vigus and Liza Mercer, as well as staffers at Elmcroft and Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton.
Due to COVID-19, there will be a small graveside service for relatives with plans for a celebration of life in 2021. Contributions can be made in honor of Sarah to Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton, 324 Wilmington Ave., Dayton, OH 45420.