Sally Larsen
How long have you worshiped at Saint Philip’s?
Since 2008
How have you been involved with the parish?
Almost immediately, my husband, Bruce, and I joined the choir. I’ve also served on the Vestry, the Finance Committee, and I now serve on the Ministry and Endowment Fund Trust (MEFT).
Former rector John Kittagawa also asked me to join four other parishioners to form a new church endowment. I served six years on what would become the Ministry Endowment Fund committee. At the first meeting I was elected Chair because I don’t think anyone else wanted the role!
What was that experience like?
It was a beautiful team effort. I’m the macro thinker and Bob Couch and Jim Prescott-Smith wrote the founding documents and did a lot of the heavy lifting because they’re phenomenal micro thinkers.
What’s kept you at Saint Philip’s for 18 years?
Being involved and forming friendships with the people here.
There are all kinds of writings about longevity, and I would put community right up there next to diet and exercise. Saint Philip’s has provided my husband, Bruce, and me with some of our best friends and one of our finest communities.
People blow me away with their talents and what they’ve done with their lives. I encourage anyone reading this to make an effort to meet people. You’ll be amazed.
Were you raised in a faith tradition?
Both my grandfather and father graduated from the same Episcopal school back east so I was raised in the Episcopal church.
I studied many religions in college but have stayed with the Episcopal faith because of its liturgy and because it allows me to explore how I want to grow in my faith. Whenever Bruce and I travel we seek out Anglican or Episcopal churches.
Did you take a break from church during your younger years?
I didn’t. I’m the oldest of five and the only one of us who regularly went to church growing up. I was attracted to it partially because I had a bunch of really great friends who went and we were part of the youth fellowship group. I was lucky to have a teacher who brought things to life for me.
When I went to college I took a bus to the national cathedral and when I lived in New York I attended St. Thomas—where I got married.
Did you ever consider attending seminary?
Not really. I’m an introvert who’s been trained to be extroverted.
Also, I don’t know how I could have paid for it and supported myself. After I was launched my parents still had four more kids to get through college and I would never have put that financial pressure on them. Their fourth was born when I was in college.
Please tell readers about the unusual experience you had.
I had a very serious injury when I was 5 ½ years old. I almost lost my leg and was in and out of clinics for six years.
I had an experience that I can’t really describe. The best I can do is say that I saw a shining light that looked like what I would describe as from a line in God’s Grandeur, Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem simile, “like shining from shook foil”. I understood that I was a teensy speck—a piece of star dust—that was part of something greater. I also felt that everything was going to be ok.
What impact did that experience have on you?
I’ve continued to feel that I’m part of something greater, and being in nature reinforces that. There is a peace that comes from feeling there is an overarching design to the universe and that we all play a part in that.
One of the great things about being in Tucson is that I feel connected to nature here. I can sit on our terrace, hear the birds and bees, and watch Mother Nature float by.
Did you ever take a leap of faith?
Bruce and I believe our relationship was divined. It was a complete leap of faith because we had to believe that our four children and our community would come around to support us. They did and here we are 26 years later.
What’s the secret to the 26 years?
Say, “I love you” every day and forgive each other. Don’t get caught up in the small stuff because it will always be there no matter what.
What did you do professionally before retiring?
I worked in wealth management. I started at G.H. Walker & Company in Boston, Massachusetts, and then relocated to New York City with Smith Barney.
I was Director of International Media and Account Services at BBDO, Inc. and worked with Fortune 100, multinational consumer and industrial clients that advertised in broadcast and print media in over 50 countries.
Eventually I became a founding partner of Risk Management Consultants, LLC.
What about the work captured your interest?
Wealth management is both art and science. Protecting clients’ wealth required understanding the macro environment, then thinking outside the box, sometimes creatively.
What’s something you find challenging?
This interview!
I grew up in a family where we were taught not to talk about ourselves or to be the center of attention. If we did, we were verbally reprimanded.
What’s something you’re really passionate about?
Gardening!
Back in the late 2010s, I was tasked with identifying and documenting unique gardens in several east coast states and to work with specialists at the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens. I was also tasked with teaching others how to do this.
This allowed me to travel and visit some of the finest gardens in this area. It also honed my mapping and photography skills, as well as interviewing and writing skills. It was extremely rewarding work.
You received an award for that, correct?
I did. It arrived in the mail last week and was completely out of the blue and also rewarded me for the design of my own gardens.
But I want to add that my greatest rewards in life are my relationships.
What’s a belief you once held that you’ve let go?
Catherine Marshall was married to the well-known minister, Peter Marshall, and I read one of her books while in college. She wrote that there is truth in all religions.
That was new and transformative for me because I grew up with a real fire and brimstone minister. I left for university with this perspective embedded in me—at the same time I had a hard time reconciling that with my own sense that surely others who believed something different could also be on a pathway to deepening their faith.
Is there a habit you’re trying to break?
After Bruce had his heart attack I upped my daily chocolate intake from three squares to five. I haven’t gained any weight but five squares a day are still too much.
What’s gotten better as you’ve gotten older?
My perspective.
I was the first executive in my company to have a baby. When people told me it would change my life I said, “Oh no. I have it all taken care of.” Well, they were right; having a child changed everything about me.
And as I’ve gotten older my perspective has continued to change. I’m lucky that with that change has come peace of mind.
What impact does that have?
I am a better listener, and can let things go a little more.
For example, being around young kids is a joy now instead of a chore. My grandnieces went diving into my closet recently and took out all my hats. It was a kick!
But in years past I might have been upset about the state of my closet and the time needed to restore order.
I’m grateful my attitude has changed.
What’s a life lesson you keep being invited to learn?
Not to try and control everything. That tendency is natural as my two youngest siblings are 9 and 19 years younger (same parents). My mother was extremely ill when my youngest brother was born. I left college to return home to care for him.
It took me a long time not to react to every crisis in the family and just let things go.
What’s something you know now that your younger self didn’t?
Surrender is a big thing for me. I try to do better at letting things go and unfold; that helps allow the right things to come into my life.
What’s something about you that friends say they really appreciate?
That I’m gracious. I take that as a real compliment.
What about that is meaningful for you?
I think being gracious is a core value of mine. If people feel better after being in my company then that’s a win.
Have you done something new recently?
I recently agreed to become Treasurer of the Desert Garden Club.
What makes you say yes to such invitations when you’re trying to do less?
Many of the women I work with are former professionals and I enjoy the experience of being back in a world where we speak the same language.
What’s something you haven’t done that you’d still like to?
Fly a plane. I wrote a third grade paper on Amelia Earhart.
What’s something unexpected in your life that you’re grateful for?
Bruce. He was the last thing in the world that I ever expected. Maybe that was part of the magic. Neither of us was looking to be in a relationship because we were each dealing with other serious matters.
We’ve carved out a wonderful life and our marriage is a support system and foundation to us both. I’m very, very grateful for that.
What might people be surprised to learn about you?
That I taught trampoline in college. Or that I once saw the Queen of England at a polo match in Windsor. She was lovely and had one of the finest complexions I’ve ever seen.
What’s a fun fact about you?
When I was 17 years old I won a case of beer in Montana when I was babysitting a bunch of kids on a 50,000 acre ranch.
