Sally Lee Cates

A Celebration of Life for Ms. Sally Cates,74, of Decatur, AL. will be 11:00AM Thursday January 15, 2026, at The Stone River Church. Visitation will from 10:00AM until 11:00AM Thursday January 15, 2026, at The Stone River Church. Ms. Cates transitioned January 8, 2026. 

Sally Lee Cates was born  in Tarrant City, Alabama to the late John Marvin Cates and Eileen Rogers Cates. Sally was a gift to all who knew her. Her sister Lena (" Corkey") was delighted to finally get a built-in playmate. Their parents divorced in 1958 (when such was not done). Still, Eileen took care of her girls with strength, dignity and awry sense of humor. They were members of Tarrant City Southern Baptist Church. In early 1970, when Sally was 19, her beloved mother died from a prolonged battle with melanoma skin cancer. She moved to Decatur to live with her sister, brother-in-law, and young nephew. She loved being an aunt. 

In November of 1970, Sally married Garland Terry. Between 1976 and 1982, they grew into a family with two daughters Stephanie and Courtney. She helped Garland build his construction business through the 1970"s. They were active in Jaycees and Jayceette. After 16 1/2 years, they divorced. in the 1970's and 80's, she was deeply involved in politics, often volunteering at the polls. Sally Owned The Swiss Colony in the Decatur Mall in the 1980's. Sally went back to school and earned her teaching degree in secondary education from Athens College in 1993. Her college friends gave her new life in the years following the divorce. 

 Sally was a fierce single mom working multiple jobs to make ends meet. In 1995 she was hired as an English teacher at Decatur High School. In her 20-year career as a teacher, she taught grade level English and Drama. She loved her students and they loved her.

She welcomed her first granddaughter in 2013, Vera, and in 2017 her second granddaughter Audra, to daughter Courtney and her husband Kyle. We're pretty sure Kyle was her favorite until the granddaughters came along. Sally lover her girls, her family, and animals. She enjoyed board games, card games, tetris, jigsaw and word puzzles, books, writing, and especially good coffee with even better conversations. Sally overcame major hardships, but through it all she loved to laugh. Faith was foundational for her, and she was a member or Ninth Street UMC and later attended the Church at Stone River. After two unknown, severer strokes, she developed vascular dementia and later on Alzheimer's Disease. Her family is incredibly grateful to the staff in the Memory Care unit at Westminister Assisted Living and NHC Healthcare in Moulton.

She is preceded in death by her mother Eileen. She leaves to cherish her memory: two daughters Stephanie Cates and Courtney (Kyle) Blanchette; two granddaughters Vera and Audra; a sister, Lena Corkey, a nephew Byron " Chip" Vann III a niece Jennifer (Andrew) Clanton; great niece, Jacksyn (Michael) Coppess; great nephew Noah Clanton. She also leaves behind Sarah Klimo and TJ Reese (probably her favorite before Kyle married into the family) who might as well have been her babies too. That's who she was.

In lieu of flowers, the family ask that you dedicate a donation in her name to the Alzheimer's Association.

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