A childhood spent in Argentina allowed Sally Matson Edwards to learn five languages, which she employed in her career as a journalist. Mrs. Edwards, of East Hampton and Vero Beach, Fla., was also an important benefactor of the Humane Society of Vero Beach and a docent and major donor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A world traveler who loved art, architecture, and gardens, Mrs. Edwards died on Monday at home on Hook Pond Lane, a family residence for 70 years, less than a month shy of her 96th birthday.
She was born in Miami on Aug. 2, 1926, to David and Frances Matson. Three years later the family emigrated to Buenos Aires, where her father helped build and eventually manage Argentina’s electrical power system.
She studied for two years at Hollins College in Roanoke, Va., and took a job at a daily newspaper in Mexico after the family moved to Mexico City in 1946. Four years later, during a trip north to visit friends, she met James C. Edwards; they were married in Mexico in 1951. The couple, with two children, lived in New York City and East Hampton.
At the Metropolitan Museum, Mrs. Edwards’s linguistic skills were put to good use as a full-time tour guide. She also volunteered for the New York Junior League and Brick Presbyterian Church, and was a member of the Colony Club and, in East Hampton, of the Maidstone Club. She was also an accomplished polo player.
After her husband died in 1996, she became more active here as a philanthropist, supporting and serving on the boards of the Long Island chapter of the Nature Conservancy and the East Hampton Library. She also supported local hospitals and the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
A lifelong dog lover, her favorite charity was probably the Humane Society of Vero Beach. She funded its mobile rescue program, which the society christened “Jasper’s Truck,” for her last pet.
Mrs. Edwards leaves a son, James C. Edwards Jr. of East Hampton, and a daughter, Anne McCabe Dunwoody of Vero Beach.
She had six grandchildren, each of whom she took on a trip of their choosing as a high school graduation present. They are Lorrie Edwards of Boston, Caroline Edwards and Courtney Kahn of New York City, Katherine Juhas of Dublin, Ireland, Christina Deforest Keys of Bryn Mawr, Pa., and Thomas B. McCabe IV of Philadelphia. She also leaves 10 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Edwards’s ashes are to be buried in the family plot at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton. A celebration of her life will be held in the future. Her family has suggested memorial donations to the Humane Society of Vero Beach, online at hsvb.org.
