Sally Frances Scribner - Obituary

ally Frances Scribner died peacefully at her home in Annapolis on May 18, 2026, at the age of 89. A Baltimore native, Sally was the daughter of Charles O. and Ruth L. Mount. Her father was a respected attorney, and both parents were active in the region's cultural, civic, and social circles. In her youth, she rode Horses at a club in Elkridge, MD. "Horses Come First," Sally used to say; she admired them her entire life. Sally graduated in 1954 from Baltimore's elite Western High, the oldest all-girls high school in the nation and celebrated for its academic rigor. Even in high school, Sally was a human dynamo. She was a member of the Ninety Club, Our Pets Club, Olympian Club, and Science Club and played badminton, softball, and basketball. At Goucher College (then a similarly elite all-women's college), Sally earned a degree in chemistry in 1957. At that time, women were largely discouraged from pursuing careers in the so-called "hard" sciences, so this was a significant achievement. While working as a spectroscopist at the U.S. Customs Laboratory in Baltimore, she met Bourdon F. Scribner. They married in 1963 and settled in Washington, D.C. Bourdon was a noted chemist and spectroscopist, a long-time rail enthusiast, an avid power boater long active in the Potomac River Power Squadron, and a George Washington University Alumnus. With their joint love for chemistry in mind, Bourdon and Sally eventually established the Bourdon F. Scribner Graduate Student Scholarship in Chemistry at George Washington University. Bourdon passed away in 2007. A member of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (DCNRHS) for nearly four decades, Sally volunteered in a wide variety of capacities with skill, good humor, and the ability to get things done. Sally was a force on DCNRHS’ Trip Committee; in the 1990s she led a very popular series of inexpensive two-day weekend motor coach tours to tourist railroads and rail historical sites in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. Sally also served on DCNRHS’ Board of Directors as a Member-at-Large for a number of years. Sally was at the heart of the crew (aka DOVER HARBOR Gang) of DCNRHS's 1923 Pullman sleeper-lounge-buffet passenger car DOVER HARBOR (doverharbor.com) from the 1980s into the 2000s. Sally used her chemistry background to make her famous lye vats, which helped strip much of the paint off the brass aboard DOVER HARBOR during its early restoration. She served as DOVER HARBOR’s On-board Services Chief for about 15 years; for about 10 years starting in 1993 as Charter Agent and later Railroad Liaison; and frequently as a Chef or Steward on trips and charters. Many of the practices she put in place as Chief of On-board Services remain part of how DCNRHS does on-board service aboard DOVER HARBOR today! Her favorite trips, according to friend Barbara, were the New Year's in New York getaways. Very supportive of the DOVER HARBOR program, when there was a need for resources, people or otherwise, Sally (and Bourdon) frequently, but always without fanfare, stepped up to help fill the void. Sally cheered enthusiastically for the Navy Football and Orioles Baseball teams. Sally was passionate about the environment and conservation. She also enjoyed many great adventures "all over the place" with her best friend and college pal from Goucher, Connie Catania. In the evening, Sally enjoyed a good, blended scotch whiskey to unwind. Sally and Bourdon owned and operated, for many years, a pleasure craft complete with a galley and sleeping quarters, just like a Pullman car. They enjoyed both overnight and weekend excursion adventures on Chesapeake Bay. Much of what they learned about catering, cooking, berthing, and entertaining in small mobile spaces Sally later applied as lessons learned for DOVER HARBOR operations. In 1974, Sally and Bourdon settled into a beautiful home in Edgewater with an incredible double fireplace and tree-lined lot where they lived for many years. Bourdon had an exquisite model train layout in the basement, and Sally enjoyed the screened-in porch. Sally also enjoyed the friendship of dear neighbors Jack and Sylvia, who, along with railroad friend Jim, were very supportive in the last years of her life. Sally will be interred together with Bourdon at Cedar Hill Cemetery, 4111 Pennsylvania Ave., Suitland, MD 20746 on July 24, 2026 at 2:00 PM ET. The simple graveside service will be open to the public. Please meet at the Cemetery Offices. A party to celebrate Sally’s life will be held at a later time. If you are interested in attending, please send an e-mail to sfs@dcnrhs.org.