New London ― Sara Chaney, the longtime city resident and community activist who spent much of her life elevating others, died Sunday morning at age 88.

Chaney, a Brooklyn, N.Y., native who moved to New London while in high school, was a familiar figure at local food pantries and municipal meetings. Chaney’s blunt but respectful manner of speaking was born of a passion for fairness, said family friend and former City Councilor Curtis Goodwin.

“She influenced and mentored me when I was entering the political world here in New London,” Goodwin said. “She was a true Black matriarch, one of those people who first paved the way for all the others that came after.”

New London NAACP President Jean Jordan, who knew Chaney for decades, recalled her as a “no nonsense” leader who had no issue calling out an injustice when it surfaced, albeit in a polite way.

“She was a big part of our NAACP branch, helping pick up membership signatures,” Jordan said. “And she was the first African-American to work for the (Hartford National Bank and Trust Co.) branch here in New London.”

Her relationship with that institution has become the stuff of legend among her contemporaries. Retired prosecutor Lonnie Braxton II said Chaney’s fight in 1966 to be hired by the banking company, then located on State Street, meant enlisting the help of the state’s civil rights commission.

“When you walked through downtown at that time, there were a lot of shops and businesses, but no people of color behind the counter ― and certainly none at a major bank,” Braxton said. “Sara pushed and fought a lot for that job and later went to work at Electric Boat, again at a time when there weren’t a lot of women working there.”

Chaney’s bank experience is mentioned on the city’s Black Heritage trail website, specifically in a section dedicated to the history of 73 Hempstead St. She lived for a time in the 1840s house, which is part of the city’s first Black neighborhood.

Braxton said Cheney possessed a “high moral sense” that she expected others to adhere to.

“She understood there were rules in place, and she expected everyone to follow them,” he said. “She was a single mother, an unsung hero who worked to make her community a better place. She’s a shining example of how a life should be lived.”

Al Chaney, the oldest of Sara’s three children, said his mother, who moved to New London permanently in 1966, had a nasty fall in November that led to head surgery and the discovery of a tumor.

“But she passed away the way she wanted to, on her own terms,” he said “She had a gruff exterior but didn’t hold a grudge. She was willing to hold out an olive branch unless you were a bad person.”

Al Chaney recalled a time while he was at UConn in the mid-1970s and got a call from his mother.

“It was a Monday and she asked why I didn’t call her on Mother’s Day,” he said. “She said, ‘You can forget my birthday or Christmas, but never forget Mother’s Day again.’ I told her I was wrong. She and I would tell everyone that story.”

Chaney served on the city’s Board of Ethics and Personnel Board. She joined the staff of the Gemma E. Moran United Way/Labor Food Center when it formed in 1988, first as a volunteer and later as its first paid employee.

Mayor Michael Passero said Chaney embodied the role of a community elder whose wisdom and experience was valued.

“I’d meet with her to get a reality check,” he said. “Anything big we had planned, I’d get Sara’s thoughts on it and fine tune it. She was the moral compass of the community.”

Tamara Lanier, a New London NAACP past vice president, said Chaney, in her role as longtime group treasurer, was a meticulous record-keeper who could provide “receipts on demand.”

“She was never one to seek a title or bragging rights, but just put in the work,” Lanier said. “About half the people in New London considered her a mother or grandmother. But she had no problem in chastising you, if necessary. I know there’s people that can’t think about New London without thinking about Sara.”

j.penney@theday.com