She died on Easter Sunday, in her apartment on the East Side of Manhattan,
a home she once shared with her husband, the prominent interior designer
Tom Lee. In 1971 Sarah Tomerlin Lee--a writer, editor, and marketing whiz--took
over her late husband's design firm and used her love of history to
create some of America's most comfortable public rooms, including those
at New York City Hall, Manhattan's Doral Park Avenue Hotel, and Washington,
D.C.'s Willard Hotel. "The last lady," as someone called her,
Sarah was known for her trademark hats, strings of pearls, and white gloves,
which she was putting on the last time I saw her, as we wound down our interview
for Metropolis's "9 Over 90" issue (January 2001) and she
prepared to go away for the weekend.
Sarah was remembered April 25 at Christ Church on Park Avenue, which was
decorated with quince blossoms, her favorite flower. A solemn Jack
Lenor Larsen recalled Sarah's "fondness for using words knowingly and
beautifully [and] her magnificent sense of drama. When we entered a
room, she'd say, 'Stand here and observe it.'" Her soft Tennessee accent,
chiming laughter, and habit of calling you "honey" were the small
details of who she was. The large details--editorial positions at Vogue,
Harper's Bazaar, and House Beautiful; marketing positions
for Helena Rubinstein, Elizabeth Arden, and Lord & Taylor; and more
than 30 hotel commissions (all balanced with raising two sons)--added up
to a full and productive life for a woman who unabashedly believed she could
add beauty to our lives. As we sang the final hymn, "Amazing Grace,"
we all knew the phrase described Sarah.
