Sally was born to Warren and Frances Kessler in Oswego, NY, on November 2, 1942.  After graduating from Oswego High School, she attended Tulane University and Connecticut College, receiving her BA in Psychology. She married and settled in Skaneateles, NY in the 70’s to raise a family, while also entering into a doctoral program at Syracuse University. In 1976, she received a Ph.D from SU’s School of Education, and was an Assistant Professor of Education there for several years before moving to Milwaukee, WI, where she continued to publish and research.

In the 90’s, Sally launched a new career with NACORE, the National Association of Real Estate Executives, relocating to southern Florida which she loved and where she eventually ended up living over 30 years. As Executive Vice President and Senior Director of the Institute of Corporate Real Estate, a career highlight was launching a Master of Corporate Real Estate Program, which became internationally prestigious under her approximately 10-year direction.

After retiring, Sally's first project was completely renovating an old home in Miami, as she wanted to have someplace to entertain family after many years living in condos. Sam humored her, and she ended up turning it into the gem of the Historic Homes of Miami tour, with a photo of her renovation on the pamphlet’s cover that she was quite proud of.

At work or at play, Sally was a formidable force who never did anything halfway. She put her all into everything she touched, all her “projects” and passions. She was known for her energy, inquisitiveness, independence of thought, principles, discipline and commitment, resourcefulness, and determination to do things right. Once she focused on something, look out! She was also exceedingly generous, often devoting her mental energies and resources to helping friends and loved ones in her life in whatever way she could. 

Sally was famously fun. She had a million dollar smile which just lit up a room, and she brought a dynamic spirit to match. Music was one of her passions, and at many gatherings she would often eventually be found at the piano, whether leading a raucous sing-a-long or providing classical accompaniment for a solo aria. 

She found the joy in anything, and had a bottomless appetite for adventure.

Subsequent chapters in the last decades of her life were filled with a serious yoga practice, adventure travel (in her sixties, she took a whitewater rafting trip with her late grandson Nate, and in her seventies she began a new hobby of open-water ocean swimming), and special times with family. Sally also had a huge respect for "those who came before us" and dove deep into her genealogical history, publishing a book (dedicated to her sister Nancy) in 2015 detailing her Irish, Scottish and German roots and her ancestors’ roles in settling and developing the Shenandoah Valley.

Sally’s final adventure was the almost 2 years she spent in Ajijic, Mexico, where she decided to move in early 2020. She surprised many people by this move, this late in life, but it was just another instance of her adventurous spirit, zest for life, and fear of nothing.

After suffering a stroke in Mexico late last year, Sally had recently decided to relocate back to the US intending to live her final years in the US, near the ocean. She passed while taking a solo swim in her beloved Atlantic Ocean, just a couple of weeks after arriving from Mexico to her new home in Wilmington, NC. Three days before her transition, she sent some of us an email, writing, ""The beach is as lovely as I have ever enjoyed. Feels good to be back home which for me I realize is the Atlantic."

Sally is preceded in death by her sister Nancy, her parents, Warren and Frances Kessler, and her grandson, Nate. She is also predeceased by her two husbands, Walter Mertens, and Sam Yarger.

She is survived by her children, Jennifer (Ono) of Naoshima, Japan; Daniel (Michelle) of Charlotte; and step-son Mark (Roxanne) of Boston; as well as her two granddaughters, Ellie and Sophie. Other close kin who survive her are her niece Miranda (Dave, and son Alex) of Tampa, and nephew Alan of Ft. Lauderdale.

Contributions can be made in Sally’s name to St. Jude’s Children’s Cancer Aid and Research Institute, https://www.childrenscancerresearch.org/donate/give-in-honor/.