Sara (Sally) Elizabeth Green Ansell

The family of Sara (Sally) Elizabeth Green Ansell is heartbroken to announce her passing on July 29, 2026 in Daphne, Alabama. It is impossible to summarize a life as full of love, laughter, joy, generosity, care, and meaning as Sally’s in a few short paragraphs. She was a talented teacher, a tireless community volunteer, a fearless advocate, a loyal friend, a loving sister, a committed wife, a devoted mother, and an adoring grandmother. Above all, Sally was kind. She had a way of making everyone she encountered feel welcome, included, valued, and respected. Whoever you were, she was delighted to see you. Sally was known to make a quick run to the grocery store and leave with five new friends. Her legacy of warmth and kindness will live on in all of us who were lucky enough to be in her orbit.

Born on August 22, 1944 to loving parents General James Green and Merritt M. Green, Sally lived an idyllic childhood with her brother, Bill Green, in West Point, New York and Fayetteville, Arkansas. She attended Sweet Briar College where she met the love of her life and husband of over 60 years, Samuel T. Ansell, at neighboring Washington and Lee University. They married in 1964 and, after a stint stationed in Washington, D.C. where Sam served as a naval intelligence officer, they moved to Fairhope, Alabama. Anyone who knew them understood the meaning of true love. They finished each other’s sentences, laughed at each other’s quirks, celebrated each other’s successes, supported one another through trying times, and only argued over the thermostat. They moved through life together as partners, joined at the hip and at the heart. Sally and Sam were dedicated to each other and their two daughters, Susan and Sara.

Sally, a gifted communicator who loved learning, was drawn to a career in education. After first teaching at Christ the King School in Daphne, Alabama (where her lifelong friendship with Bob and Margaret Martin began), she moved to Bayside Academy where she helped many generations of students discover that they, in fact, were not bad at math! She shared different and creative ways to learn complicated concepts and, more importantly, offered her students patience, kindness, and the unfailing belief that they could master math. Through her nurturing support, students learned to believe it themselves.

As Sam was also a teacher, they were able to spend their summers travelling the country as a family. Sally was known for planning adventurous road trips each June and July. She delighted in visiting her brother, Bill Green, and his family as well as close friend, Susie Keating, in California, introducing her girls to the beauty of national parks, discovering offbeat destinations like the world’s largest hand-dug well (in Greensburg, Kansas in case anyone would like to visit), and learning from historical sites. In fact, her unbridled enthusiasm upon spying an historical marker along the roadside resulted in her family renaming them “hysterical markers.” Sally and Sam also often travelled with their dear friends, the Martins.

Sally adored teaching and the Bayside community but also relished retirement. She joyfully filled her time volunteering for a variety of causes including serving as a navigator for the Affordable Care Act. She believed strongly in improving access to affordable health care and was proud of her role in advancing this goal. She enjoyed attending water aerobics classes, playing bridge with friends, and travelling frequently to visit her daughters and grandchildren. After receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2018, Sally threw her energy into slowing the progression of the disease. She forged wonderful new friendships at her Rock Steady Boxing class and participated in events to raise funds for Parkinson’s research.

Sally’s family and friends meant everything to her and they navigated the past several years together, as a team. Bob and Margaret Martin supported Sally with weekly dinners and countless phone calls - particularly during Alabama football games and political debates. Sally treasured her daughters and sons-in-law and delighted in hearing about the ins and outs of their lives in Wisconsin and Vermont. Other than her wedding day to Sam and the birth of her girls, the most meaningful days in Sally’s life were the birthdays of her four beloved grandchildren – Milo, Ruby, Wren, and Fern. She loved them fiercely and with all her heart. They will greatly miss her big hugs, her smile, her gentle teasing, playing card games, going to Mr. Gene’s Beans for ice cream, walking the Fairhope pier, watching the Princess Bride, and basking in the warmth of her endless love and affection.

The family would like to thank the staff of Eastern Shore Rehabilitation and Health Center for their support over the last few months. They would also like to extend their sincerest gratitude to Sharonia (Roni) Woodrow and her wonderful team for providing Sally such compassionate care and companionship.

Sally will be lovingly remembered by her husband Sam Ansell; her daughters Susan (Ryan) Hayes of Williston, Vermont and Sara (Paul) Aylesworth Ansell of Madison, Wisconsin; her four grandchildren, Milo Hayes, Wren Hayes, Ruby Aylesworth, and Fern Aylesworth; and her brother, Bill Green and his wife Kim Waide. Sally will be deeply missed by her lifelong, cherished friends, Bob and Margaret Martin of Mobile, Alabama and their daughters (and families), Elizabeth Blanchette and Margaret Dudley. She will also be remembered by numerous friends across the country including Mark and Mary Ann Aylesworth as well as those closer to home in Fairhope (including many at Homestead Village).

The family invites all who knew and loved Sally to a visitation on Sunday, September 6 from 2-4pm at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, 19698 Greeno Road, Fairhope, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to the Davis Phinney Foundation to support the development of tools, education, and research to help people with Parkinson's live well.

1. ARRANGEMENTS BY
2. WOLFE-BAYVIEW
3. FUNERAL HOMES
4. & CREMATORY, INC.
5. 19698 GREENO RD.
6. FAIRHOPE, AL
7. (251)990-7775