Sara F. Luther died peacefully at home on February 3, 2015 in Mount Dora, Central Florida. Her death at 96, due to leukemia, was confirmed by her husband John J. Neumaier.

Sally Luther, as she was known, had been a member the Minnesota House of Representatives for twelve years (six two year terms, 1951-62) representing Minneapolis District 30. She was the only woman in the two-chamber state legislature for two terms and was one of only two women during the other four terms. She served as a member of numerous legislative committees and as Chairperson of both the Civil Administration Committee (1959-62) and of the Welfare Committee (1955-58). In 1963 Sally Luther became Aide to Minneapolis Mayor Arthur E. Naftalin, and in 1965 became Executive Assistant to Minnesota Governor Karl Rolvaag.

As a politician Sally Luther was involved in many Minneapolis and state committees, especially relating to civil and human rights. In 1968 she was a delegate and co-chairperson of the Eugene McCarthy delegation of Minnesota at the Democratic Convention in Chicago (at which Hubert Humphrey was elected the Democratic Presidential nominee). Sally Luther and her husband John Neumaier (former President of Moorhead State College, MN) were given a state dinner by Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich in honor of the couple's contributions to the state. Invited guests included former Governor Rolvaag and other state leaders and their spouses.

Sara Fletcher Luther's ground-breaking book, The United States and the Direct Broadcast Satellite: The Politics of International Broadcasting in Space (Oxford University Press, 1988; Chinese ed.: Yuan-Liou Ltd., Taiwan, 1996) provides historical background to the development of commercial radio broadcasting and international telecommunications systems and regulations. Dr. Luther demonstrates how the U.S., with its superior economic resources and advanced telecommunications technology, gained airwave dominance over African and other less developed and less powerful states. She also co-edited Diverse Perspectives on Marxist Philosophy: East and West (Greenwood Press, 1995).

Sara Lee (Sally) Fletcher was born in Minneapolis on December 6, 1918 to Clark R. Fletcher, a corporate attorney who headed the Fletcher-Dorsey law firm, and to Alice Fletcher, known as the 'Grande Dame' of the Lake Minnetonka area of Deep Haven. She is survived by her older brother, businessman Clark Fletcher, Jr. and her younger brother Kingston Fletcher, former senior vice-president of Proctor and Gamble. Her first marriage in 1941 to C. Hamilton Luther ended in divorce. Their three children are Charles H. Luther, Mark F. Luther, and Sara Lee Luther. Her second marriage in 1969 was to John J. Neumaier, at the time president of the State University of New York at New Paltz, NY. Her step-children are Diane L Neumaier, Roger L. Neumaier, and John F. Neumaier. Sally Luther has 13 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She and her husband had resided in Minneapolis; New Paltz, NY; Poughkeepsie; and Mount Dora, Florida.

Sally Luther graduated in 1940 from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in drama, and served as Class of '40 Correspondent until her death. (At Vassar she knew Eleanor Roosevelt whom she introduced in Minneapolis for a 1963 speech on the United Nations to an audience which included Republican and Democratic leaders.) She received a Master of Arts degree in African Studies in 1974 from the State University of New York at New Paltz and a Ph.D. in political sociology from the City University of New York in 1986 at age 67.

Sally Luther did extensive research at Duke University; Washington University; the University of Southern California; Moscow State University, Russia; and other institutions. She and her husband gave speeches and lectures at the University of Wisconsin (Au Claire), Marist College (Poughkeepsie), Vassar, Moscow State University, and at international meetings of the International Association of Mass Communications as well as at many civic centers in Minnesota and New York State.

Her professional work included: Minneapolis Honeywell Co. personnel department; reporter Minneapolis Star/Tribune; senior researcher at American Rehabilitation Foundation, Mpls.; Director of Off-Campus Studies at Vassar College; teacher at the Poughkeepsie Day School; and scholarly research and writing for various journals.

Sally Luther's organizational and committee activities included: League of Women Voters; NAACP (which awarded her a commendation plaque); Chair of the ACLU Mid-Hudson Branch; Poughkeepsie, NY; Co-chair of the Dutchess County Peace Center, Poughkeepsie; Board Member of Radio for Peace International, based in Santa Ana, Costa Rica; Vice-President of the Northeast Black History Committee, Mount Dora, Inc.; Board Member of the Mount Dora Historical Society; and the long-time secretary of the board of Villa Dora Condominium in Mount Dora, Central Florida.

Academic memberships included: Academy for the Humanities and Sciences at City University of New York; International Association of Mass Communications; American Sociology Association; American Association of University Women; and the Radical Philosophy Association.

A memorial program "A Celebration of the Life of Sally Luther" will be held Tuesday, February 10 at 11:00 a.m. at the Allen J. Harden Funeral Home, 1800 North Donnelly Street in Mount Dora, Florida. A reception will follow immediately afterward at the Lakeside Inn.

For further information about Sally Luther, please contact her husband Dr. John J. Neumaier at either 352 383-0059 or via E-mail Neuluther@aol.com.