Sally Smith LaPointe, who coached at the College from 1972 until her retirement in 1992, died on May 7, 2007, in Bath, Maine.

Born on April 20, 1934, in Swampscott, Mass., she attended Northampton (Mass.) School for Girls and completed two years at Connecticut College for Women. In 1976, she graduated from the University of Southern Maine. She was the first women’s coach in Bowdoin’s Athletic Department, and with her husband, Mortimer LaPointe, was inducted into the College’s Athletic Hall of Honor in 2006. Before being associated with Bowdoin, she directed the girls’ athletic program at the Berkshire Country Day School in Lenox, Mass., and for several years assisted in the girls’ physical education program at Brunswick Junior High School. She volunteered her time to help drug addicts and was a child advocate in the court system. Bowdoin president Barry Mills ’72 said of her,“Sally was a remarkable pioneer at Bowdoin, which is widely recognized for the achievements of our female scholar athletes.All four of the programs that she helped establish have developed into nationally recognized programs. Bowdoin is a greater place today because of Sally LaPointe’s contributions.” She was also inducted into the Connecticut College Hall of Fame. Surviving are her husband, Mortimer LaPointe, whom she married in 1955; three sons, Mortimer LaPointe, Jr. of Topsham, Josh LaPointe of Bowdoinham, and Garth LaPointe of Shelburne, Mass.; a brother, Philip Smith of Southport; seven grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.