Sara McCutcheon, longtime Garden City resident and mother of 11, dies at 88

Sara "Sally" Marie McCutcheon loved to lunch. She enjoyed playing golf, weekly date nights with her husband, and shopping. She also was able to raise 11 children.

"One of the big things that I take away from my mom is that I admire her strength in raising 11 kids and what it took to do that," said daughter Maureen Coogan of Garden City. "I looked up to my parents' relationship and how they always made time for each other."

McCutcheon, a longtime resident of Garden City, died at home of heart failure on Feb. 21 at the age of 88.

Born on Sept. 10, 1933, in Rockville Centre, McCutcheon grew up in Long Beach. She graduated from Long Beach High School in 1950, where she was a proud member of the cheerleading squad. She met and fell in love with George H. McCutcheon, a Long Beach lifeguard, and she married her teenage sweetheart in 1955 at St. Ignatius Church in Long Beach. Shortly after their wedding, she joined her husband in Hawaii, where he was stationed with the U.S. Marines. She gave birth to their first child, George, in Hawaii in 1956, before returning to Long Beach in 1957 and having 10 more children.

"Out of 11 children, there were no twins or multiples, and we were all treated individually," said son John McCutcheon of Rockville Centre. "When my brother Joey was born, he was the third boy born three years in a row on the same day, March 8. We were on the cover of the New York Daily Mirror Sunday color section for that."

The family moved to Garden City in 1978, where McCutcheon was a stay-at-home mother for her many independent children while her husband worked in the insurance business and bartended or refereed sports on weekends.

"She wasn't a helicopter parent. She didn't baby us but she would stand up for us," said John, noting the age gap between the 11 kids — the eldest born in 1956 and the youngest born in 1970. "We always had dinner together at 6 p.m. every night, and if you weren't home by then, you didn't get dinner."

"Cooking wasn't her forte but there was always a full meal on the table. I remember Sally's Special: ground beef with peppers, onions, and rice and gravy that she served in a big pot," said Maureen. "There were always friends and neighborhood kids at the house and she made meals that were able to serve a lot of people."

McCutcheon took pride in her appearance and always looked impeccable. When her kids were off at school, she held a part-time job to have her own spending money, working in Alexander's, a large department store, an insurance company in Garden City, and then Lord & Taylor.

"Mom made sure we always had clean school clothes, play clothes and Sunday clothes," said Maureen. "She always ironed our shirts and shined our shoes."

A grandmother to 22 grandchildren, McCutcheon never missed a birthday and sent cards for every occasion. She was known for her massive calendar that spanned 3 feet, marked with birthdays and anniversaries of family members. Above all, McCutcheon lived her life through family, faith and hard work, impressing upon her children those very same values, her family said.

"We would always see her at bedtime on her knees praying," said Maureen. "When they couldn't make it to church, she and my dad watched Catholic Faith on television and she had rosary beads around her hands."

"How she lived her life is what she passed along to us. All 10 surviving children are involved in their communities, we all graduated college, are all successful in life and have great families," said Jack. "She taught us to be independent and have faith."

In addition to Jack and Maureen, McCutcheon is survived by her husband, George; eight children, George, James, Karen, Michael, Patricia, Thomas, Christopher, Annmarie; 22 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by her third son, Joseph, who died in 1985.

A funeral Mass was held on Feb. 24 at Church of St. Anne in Garden City. She was interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, Westchester County.