Sally Veazey sat in her living room, speaking with pride about the animal trophies that adorned the walls, including bison, bighorn sheep and elk, as the 1964 movie “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” played in the background.
Like Molly Brown, Veazey could also be described as “unsinkable.” In February, she will mark 34 years of surviving breast cancer, and has had three joints replaced in three years.
Despite past health issues and fears of future injuries, Veazey spends much of her time delivering and picking up furniture to sell at the Assistance League thrift shop, known as Cedar Closet.
“I like doing what I do,” Veazey said. “I like helping people.”
She spends much of her time working at the thrift shop, where she has served on various board positions and is now in charge of deliveries and pickups. She also volunteers with the Elks Ladies, the Arizona Historical Society and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale.
Her volunteer spirit and her dedication to serving the community earned Veazey the honor of being named the female Arizona Daily Sun Citizen of the Year in a vote by former winners.
Gaye Knight, who nominated Veazey for the award, said Veazey always goes above and beyond in her volunteer work.
“She is such an energetic person,” Knight said. “She’s always there to help people. She always amazes me, she’s really big-hearted.”
Veazey credits her volunteer spirit to her husband, the late Robert Veazey, a descendant of the Babbitt family.
“Sometimes he would pay other people’s gas bills before he would pay our own,” Veazey said with a smile.
She lived in Flagstaff as a child, but her family moved around for a few years before returning to Flagstaff, where she graduated from Flagstaff High School.
She and Robert lived in Scottsdale for years before he decided to move back to Flagstaff in the mid-1990s.
“I joined the Assistance League of Flagstaff when we came back because I was bored,” Veazey said. “I told my husband I needed something to do.”
Veazey spent Monday morning driving the shop’s truck to Munds Park to pick up furniture, then to Forest Highlands to pick up dishes and to another house in Flagstaff before returning the truck and coming home.
“I try to work at least one shift a week in the thrift shop,” she said. “But sometimes with all of the pickups and drop-offs it’s hard to do that. I would really rather go there than clean my house!”
The Assistance League uses the money raised from the thrift shop to fund various projects, including Hug-a-Bear, which provides teddy bears to children dealing with trauma; and Operation
School Bell, which helps provide school and hygiene supplies for children, creates kits for victims of assault and directly helps homeless and needy people by providing clothing and necessities.
Veazey is in charge of the league’s “Kiddie Closet,” which provides a diaper bag, diapers, newborn clothes and other basics for new mothers in need.
Bunny Gaylord, a friend of Veazey’s and a former Arizona Daily Sun Citizen of the Year, said Veazey is willing to help with volunteer projects, and to give a hand to other members of the community.
“She’s a go-getter,” Gaylord said. “She never gives up, and she’s always willing to pitch in and help. She helps a lot more than people know.”
Gaylord, who also volunteers for the Assistance League, said Veazey is always greatly missed when she cannot work for health reasons.
“She’s always there if we have a question,” Gaylord said. “Whenever there is a problem, someone will always say to call Sally.”
Gaylord said Veazey is also known to give sweets and desserts to people in the community.
“She’s always ready to give somebody a treat,” Gaylord said. “She’s fun to work with, and I’m grateful that she’s part of our community.”
Veazey is known for bringing her homemade dessert breads to people in town, including unexpected places like the Motor Vehicle Division.
“People always complain about the MVD,” Veazey said. “I brought them some bread and I said I wanted them to know I had a good experience there. I take bread to Verizon, and I spoil the guys at the bank and at Fry’s. Some of them just become your kids after a while.”
She bakes more than 100 loaves of bread for the annual Boys and Girls Clubs luncheon in Scottsdale and makes enough baked beans to feed hundreds of people at the monthly Elks Club steak dinners over the summer, as well as for the Arizona Historical Society for the Old Timer’s Picnic.
“Half the people in this town call me ‘Aunt Sally,'” Veazey joked.
She has also worked at the will call booth at the Waste Management Phoenix Open (formerly Phoenix Open) for the past 29 years.
“It’s wild and crazy and so much fun,” she said with a laugh. “People who worked there before say they’re retiring, and I say they will have to take me out feet first because I have so much fun working there.”
She said she was honored to be nominated for the Citizen of the Year, but never expected to win.
“I just enjoy helping people and I enjoy giving back,” she said. “I enjoy working hard.”
CORINA VANEK Sun Staff Reporter
