Sally Wylde, Founder of Oakhurst Community Garden, Passes
Decatur Metro | August 21, 2010The Decatur Minute’s Catherine Lee writes…
[Thursday] evening Sally Wylde, a Decatur resident, founder of the Oakhurst Community Garden Project and an inspiring community leader, passed away. She was an amazing woman and had a huge influence on the Decatur community. Sally moved to Oakhurst in 1993 where she and her neighbor, Louise Jackson, invited school children to become caretakers of a garden they had formerly cut through every day after school. Shortly after, Sally and her husband, Britt Dean, acquired a nearby undeveloped half-acre lot and established the Oakhurst Community Garden Project.
You can read Catherine’s full tribute to Sally HERE.
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How very, very sad– but what an inspiring person she was. I daresay Oakhurst wouldn’t be quite as vibrant a neighborhood as it is today if she hadn’t poured her soul into the Garden.
Breast cancer is an awful, insidious, hateful disease. I wish and hope with all my heart that we’re at least near to finding a cure.
I’d never heard of Sally Wylde until I read about her sad death, but my family benefits from her incredible work with the Oakhurst Garden on an almost daily basis. I’m glad to know her name, and will think of her every time we visit.
Maybe they can plant a memorial garden for her on the property. She was a wonderful woman.
Wonderful woman, wonderful neighbor and amazing advocate for all things Decatur.
Sally was an angel on loan from heaven. We were all blessed by her.
At least there’s a brighter star in the sky–Sally Wylde was a beautiful and inspirational woman. I remember working with the South Decatur Comunity Development Corporation years ago when she approached us for a loan to build a garden on an overgrown corner lot in a shabby area. Whatever for, I thought. Little did we know…Sally’s OCD is a treasure for the entire metro area.
Sally’s spirit resides in all efforts to create community within green spaces in Decatur. I will miss Sally, but her energy will continue to bless us, especially when visiting the Oakhurst Community Garden!
Sally set the tone. She also gave me serious shoe envy on more than one occasion.
What a difference one gentle spirit can make. If only we all could leave such a legacy. Rest in peace Sally, and know that your work lives on.
What a glorious legacy for Sally Wylde. Gardens & friendships are blooming all over Decatur- seeds sown by her community garden spirit! Happy gardening in Heaven!