Sally Morlan Indianapolis, Ind.

Sally Ann Tomlinson Morlan, 80, died Feb. 3, 2016, in her home in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Sally was born on Nov. 17, 1935, to Thomas and Pauline (Sandquist) Tomlinson in Ames. She grew up on farms near Bondurant and Adel, where she graduated from high school. Sally was a graduate of Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa, and taught in Boxholm and Guthrie Center.

On Aug. 3, 1957, Sally married Frank Morlan in Adel and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Jennifer. She was a business partner with her husband in publishing the Brooklyn Chronicle, Sheldon Mail, Sheldon Sun and Osceola Sentinel-Tribune. Their newspapers won more than 160 national and state honors, and she and Frank received the first national Edward Jones Golden Heart Award for their efforts to help the less fortunate in O’Brien County.

In 1962, Sally Morlan was among the first people to undergo open-heart surgery when she was operated on by Dr. Walt Lillehei at the University of Minnesota. She looked on the following years as a gift and took nothing for granted. Her heart was never strong, but it was powerful. She taught her daughters how to make a bed with hospital corners, how to tend a garden and how to correctly fold a towel (in half and then tri-fold). She taught them to stand up for their beliefs and the rights of others.

In Sheldon, Sally helped found the Children’s World daycare center when she and others in the community realized there was a need for affordable, safe child care. She was a member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Sheldon, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Des Moines and PEO Sisterhood.

After she moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, she continued to cheer for ISU, UNI and Iowa. She believed in the Grace of God, was proud of her Swedish heritage and being an Iowan. She loved her family and friends with all her heart.

Sally was preceded in death by her husband, parents and sister Jane Glenn.

Survivors include daughter Elizabeth Morlan Walls of Albany, Oregon, her husband D. Mack Walls, and grandsons, Robbie and Jackson; daughter Jennifer Morlan-Horner of Indianapolis, Indiana, her husband, Scott Horner, and grandson Thomas; sister Nancy Clarke of Phoenix, Arizona, and brother-in-law Bud Holland; brother-in-law Cedric Glenn of Adel; sister-in-law Bonnie Neiderheiser; nieces and nephews and many friends.

A graveside service will be held in June at Oakdale Cemetery in Adel. Memorial contributions may be made to Women for Women International at www.womenforwomen.org or Save the Children at www.savethechildren.org.