Sonia Phipps Farrell Seherr-Thoss was the granddaughter of Henry Phipps, a partner of steel industrialist Andrew Carnegie and the daughter of Henry Carnegie Phipps and Gladys Livingston Mills Phipps. Sonia, who went by the nickname Sunny, grew up in Roslyn, Long Island, New York; New York City; and Palm Beach, Fla. She married Hans Seherr-Thoss, nicknamed Boysie, in Palm Beach, Fla. in 1948. Both had children from previous marriages. Seherr-Thoss was born in Dobrau, Germany, and later became a United States citizen, serving in the United States Army during World War II. In 1948, the Seherr-Thosses purchased property in Litchfield, Conn. They established Butternut Brook Jerseys, a dairy farm, in 1956, which they ran until 1966. They also had residences in New York City, Borrego, CA, and Wickenburg, AZ. Even before her marriage, Sunny Seherr-Thoss traveled extensively and continued to do so until late in her life with her husband and family and friends to such places as Europe, Russia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Iran, India, China, Japan, Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and the Galapagos Islands. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Seherr-Thosses outfitted a custom-built Dodge camper truck they called the Desert Cruiser and shipped it to foreign countries to allow them to access remote locations at their own pace. In 1968, the Smithsonian Institution Press published Design and Color in Islamic Architecture: Afganistan, Iran, Turkey. Written by  Mrs. Seherr-Thoss, the photographs were taken by Mr. Seherr-Thoss. Following his death, she wrote four more books. Sonia Seherr-Thoss's boards and foundations included Connecticut Junior Republic, Greater Litchfield Preservation Trust, Litchfield Community Center, Litchfield High School Scholarship Association, Litchfield Historical Society, Oliver Wolcott Library, Phipps Houses, the Seherr-Thoss Charitable Trust, the Seherr-Thoss Foundation, Visiting Nurse Association of Litchfield and White Memorial Foundation and Conservation. Her awards included Distinguished Friend and Education Award, Litchfield Sports Booster Club, Paul Harris Fellow Award, White Memorial Foundation Conservation Award, and Wisdom Award.