Sally Jo (Manning) Hancock

Sally Jo (Manning) Hancock was born in 1930 to Ben and Loretta (Kelley/McCrary) Manning in Port Angeles, Washington. Sally Jo was raised in Seattle, Washington, attending school at Queen Anne High School. Sally Jo struggled with health during her early years, missing significant portions of her grade school. But her mother, who was a teacher always made sure Sally Jo was academically where she should be, even graduating from high school early. Sally Jo recounted times when their house on Queen Anne Hill was used for monitoring blackout drills for the whole city of Seattle during World War II.

Sally Jo Hancock

In 1947, while attending the University of Washington she met her future husband, Donald E. Hancock. They married in 1950. Early in their marriage they lived in California for a brief amount of time, Albany, Oregon, and eventually settled into the suburbs of Portland. Sally Jo was a stay-at-home mother when their children were young, however, once the children were old enough to stay by themselves, Sally Jo returned to college. She eventually earned her Master of Science degree in Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology from Portland State University. Sally Jo then worked for Portland Public Schools doing what she loved best: working with children who had special needs in speech and language development.

Sally Jo retired from Portland Public Schools in 1986. After retirement she and Don moved to their summer home at Carlyon Beach (Olympia, Washington). Sally Jo began to help with the Olympia Senior Center where she achieved multiple Presidential Awards for Volunteerism. Sally Jo also became very active in Wrinkles of Washington both in set design and in performances and the Aloha Sweethearts (taking 3rd in their senior class at a Hawaiian competition). Sally Jo has been a member of the White Rose Circle of Kappa Delta Sorority for 50-plus years and a member of Zeta Phi Eta (National Professional Fraternity in the Communication Arts and Sciences). Once she and Don moved to Bend, she became active in the American Legion Auxiliary as a volunteer. Most recently, the Hancock family lived at The Lodge in Sisters.

Sally's husband, Don passed away in March 2024.

Sally Jo is survived by her two sons and their spouses; her daughter and spouse; multiple grandchildren; great- grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Sally Jo and Don will be interred at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland at a later date in a double ceremony.

In lieu of flowers, the Hancock family requests that any donation be made to Mary Gordon-Brannan Speech and Hearing Sciences Endowed Scholarship: https://giving.psuf.org/gordon-brannan.