Sally Hayes was born in Chicago in 1920. After receiving an A.B. from Smith College in 1941, she served with the Women's Army Corps (1943-1945) as a cryptographer for the U.S. Ambassador in London, France, and North Africa. She married Walter Plaut in 1946. After the war, they lived in Rowayton, CT. She was a scout leader, PTA chair, and founder of Rowayton Investment Group for Women. They had four children. Sally Plaut died in 1994.