Missing Sue

I woke up yesterday morning and realized that it was exactly a year ago when I received the call from Sue telling me her cancer treatments were no longer working. I remember the pause in the conversation as I absorbed the information. I thought for a fleeting moment, "What can I say?" and then suddenly the comment that sprang from my mouth was "You know what I am going to miss the most, Sue?" She said "No, Shelley, what?" I said, "I am going to miss this, the ability to speak with you on the phone at anytime."

Still, when I hear something funny or want to discuss an idea, I often think "I need to call Sue!" It is a practice I have had for over 30 years now that will take sometime to fad.

Sue, please know that I am thinking of you, and still call upon you with my ideas and stories. The only difference is, I no longer have to pay long distance rates or for minutes. It is all free now.

Sue J. Rauch Distinguished Service Award- Willamette Athletics

On Monday, May 2 at the Willamette University Athletics Awards Ceremony, the 2011 Coaches Council announced the Sue J. Rauch Memorial Award, for Distinguished Service and Commitment to Willamette Athletics.

I was honored enough to introduce the award:

                                    January 15th, 2011 Willamette University lost one of it’s greatest friends when Sue Rauch lost her battle with Cancer.  Sue was a mentor to me, and has given me great perspective.  

I am proud to announce that in April 2011, the Willamette University Coaches Council established an administrative award in Sue’s name that will be given to the administrator of choice that best exemplifies the support and service that Sue provided to our department during her service.

Sue J. Rauch

Distinguished Service and Commitment to Willamette Athletics

“In memory of Sue Rauch, a dedicated member of the Willamette community, serving a vital role in the success of Bearcat Athletics. This award is given in honor of her ongoing support and commitment to the Athletic Department, its Coaches, and its Student-Athletes.”

I would like to thank the Coaches Council for establishing this award, and I thank Sue for providing endless insight, support, and friendship.

Glen Fowles


Assistant Head Coach, Colleague and Friend

Cassandra (Cassi) Herr - First Sue Rauch Scholarship Recipient

As many of you know, the Sue Rauch Scholarship fund was established on the occasion of Sue's 50th Birthday in 2003. The fund has been growing steadily over the years and met it's endowment goal in 2009 - 2010. Once a scholarship fund reaches this level, an award can be made the following year.

I am pleased to share with you the news about the first Sue Rauch Scholarship recipient.

Cassi Herr - Willamette '14

"Cassandra (Cassi) Herr, the first recipient of the Sue Rauch Scholarship, is just completing her freshman year at Willamette where she plans to major in music performance (flute).

She hails from Manitowoc, WI, where she was raised primarily by her father.  She will return there over the summer and work full-time at a greenhouse/flower shop.  She also plans to do a lot of biking, hiking and canoeing.

Cassi would not have been able to attend Willamette without substantial financial
assistance. The Sue Rauch Scholarship will help her to continue her studies at Willamette.

Cassi came to the Relay for Life to meet Sue's parents and friends who were walking
in honor of Sue.  She loved meeting everyone, "especially Sue's parents", and feels she has a better idea how beloved Sue was."

Many generous memorial gifts were received for the Sue Rauch Scholarship fund. These gifts have contributed to establishing an even stronger base of endowment for the scholarship. This is exciting news for students like Cassi who need a little extra help to make their dreams a reality.

In Dedication to Sue

The daffodils are in full bloom and the tulips are starting to make their appearance.  I was thinking of Sue this weekend as her birthday came and went, and I figured it was high time I submitted something to the blog.  Sue played an integral role in several chapters of my life.  The first chapter was as a junior in high school and a prospective student to Willamette.  I felt very special to have been asked to interview with WU - I was the only person I knew who was being asked to interview at a college or university.  I don't really remember the interview, all I know is that once it was over, I was sold on WU and could not wait to go.  As a senior, I visited the campus, staying overnight and attending classes.  I met with Sue again during this visit and my devotion to WU was solidified.  I don't remember interacting with Sue while I was a student at Willamette, but just before graduation I was talked into applying for an Admission Counselor position and was hired - my relationship with Sue was only just beginning.  

I spent two years in the Admission office - together with the travel and application reviews, there were a lot of laughs and pranks. I will never forget the fabulous treats that Louise would make or the "hairy-licker" that we used to seal envelopes.  At the time, my mom was really into making vests - especially themed vests to wear for every holiday. The office got a kick out of them, so my mom made all the women in the office vests for Christmas one year, and for Jim Sumner, the lone male, a tie.   When my mom came to visit, it was agreed that everyone would wear their vest to work (even though it was not Christmas) - and Sue even had Hank wear one to show his appreciation.  

Sue served as a mentor to me as I made the transition from a Willamette coed to Willamette professional.  She was also someone I enjoyed spending social time with.  I particularly enjoyed the day trips to the beach to let Hank run around in the surf - I remember her telling me how she would drive out to the beach even in bad weather, just to watch the waves pound on the shore. And I always enjoyed sharing a meal with her at Goudy (watching, amazed, as she did the NY Times crossword in pen) or a cup of coffee at the Bistro. 

As others have mentioned in their blog entries, Sue was such a loyal and devoted friend.  I decided during my second year in Admissions to apply to join the Peace Corps.  Near my birthday in April 2000, I found out that I had been accepted and would be moving to Tanzania in East Africa. For my birthday that year, Sue and my mom conspired to make me a cake and surprise me at work.  What a surprise it was!  Sue decorated it as she imagined the wilds of Africa must look like - calling me the "African Queen".  Thinking about it still brings a smile to my face.  She also let me live with her for a couple of weeks when I had no housing just before I left for Peace Corps.  While I was gone she would write me letters or send emails - always filling me in on the gossip back at Willamette.  Hank and I shared a birthday - he always sent me a birthday card while I was away.  After having been gone for a couple of years, I came home for a short visit and Sue threw a BBQ so I could see a lot of familiar faces all in one place - what a treat that was after so much time away!  

When I got engaged Sue expressed her excitement over the phone.  When I got married, she and Teresa Hudkins came to Reno to attend the event.  When I was expecting my first child, I got a call from Sue one day who wanted to see how the pregnancy was doing.  She said she had been at the doctor and could hear through the wall a fetal monitor being used on an expectant mother and said she thought of me.  When I was on maternity leave, and she was undergoing treatment for the cancer, she and I spoke on the phone a few times - I always found comfort in her voice so many miles away.

It saddens me that my daughter Grace never got to meet Sue. However, I am grateful that Grace got to attend the memorial service with my husband and I, meeting so many wonderful people who have been influential in my life and important to Sue. I do know that I will have a wonderful time sharing my memories of Sue with Grace as she grows older.

In dedication to Sue I have made a couple of decisions:
1. I will continue to take notes in a journal and not a pad of paper;
2. From now on I will take my birthday off from work;
3. I will hold a "Kiss the Summer Good-bye" party each fall; and
4. I will live life to the fullest - always remembering to laugh a lot and out loud.

Thank you Sue for your friendship, laughter, and memories. 
I miss you dearly, 


Tara Graham
Student, Colleague and Friend

My Dear High School Friend

Senior Photo - St Helena High School - 1971

 

Sue car hopped with me at A&W and we took many road trips in my VW. We loved to tease the road workers. She was my tassle twirling friend. We had a good time…the memories are wonderful.
 

Sue doing the Shimmy!

Once Sue and I were going to the beach for the day. We had to travel over St. Helena mountain, which was a winding road. We saw a sign it said "Road Work Ahead". Sue was always up for a good dare. I dared her to remove her shirt as we passed the construction workers in my car. Only in her bra, and well endowed she was, keep in mind this was 1970. The road worker was waving vehicles through and our turn came and the road worker put up the STOP sign. The worker's eyes got big, I was laughing so hard I cried, Sue was laughing and scrambling to put her shirt back on. He then waved us through with all the guys whistling and waving. We were always laughing. 


Ann Morrow Cortinas
A&W Co-worker, High School Friend and Partner-in-Crime

Rainbow Girls

Sue and I were in Rainbow Girls together. Sue and I were at a convention and we were sharing a room together. We were kinda bored so we decided to order a pizza just so we could see if the person that delivered it was cute or not. We ordered a large pizza and when it came we decided to have a contest to see who could eat the most and the fastest. We started shoving pizza into our mouths as fast as we could and by the time we were halfway done with it we were laughing so hard we both peed our pants. 


What fun times we had. I will miss her but love her forever. 
Prayers to the family. 


Marian (Smart) Greenlaw
Fellow Rainbow Girl and Friend

Bearcats vs. Wildcats

Sue, Mike, Shelley and Judy - October 2010

On a sunny October day, Sue, Mike, Judy and Shelley traveled to McMinnville to watch the Bearcats play the Wildcats. A good time was had by all. Topped off by ice cream on the way home.


Michael Plank,
Former student, Asst. Head Men's Basketball Coach and Recruiting Coordinator, Friend

Daffodils - Sue's Favorite Flower

I think of Sue each spring as the crocus begin to poke through the ground. Because I know, the daffodils are soon to follow. 

Over the many years of our friendship, I often would bring daffodils to Sue on her birthday. When she moved into her house I brought bulbs for her garden. Spring flowers were always prominent in her garden with daffodils in abundance.

"Daffodils" (1804)

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

By William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

The coming of Spring and the anticipation of daffodils will always remind me of Sue and her love of for this flower.

Shelley Sump

Friend and Partner in Crime 

The Red Sweater

For several years, sales people were allowed to set up shop at tables outside the bookstore in the U.C.  A couple of times there was a vendor who sold gorgeous hand-knit (or so he said) sweaters from Bolivia (or somewhere).  There were very few "smalls" available.  I had looked for one in red, but was told the only one in the stack had been sold earlier that day.  I came back to the office and was telling this story to several staff when Sue came out of her office and said, "Oh, I bought that for Mindy for Christmas, but here -  you can have it.  I have something else for Mindy anyway."  


We argued back and forth about it because I didn't want to feel guilty forever for denying Mindy this wonderful Christmas present.  As usual, Sue won out.  She insisted I take the sweater and then refused to let me pay for it.  "Merry Christmas," she said, and gave me a hug.  Of course, I kept the sweater, which I still have and love.  (Sorry, Mindy).

Teresa Hudkins
Friend, Colleague and Red Sweater Owner

Norway - August 1974

Sue in Norway - showing off her hair!

This photo was taken in August 1974 at the Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo, Norway.  I chose this photo because I loved Sue's ability to be silly and have fun and just plain laugh.  In the nearly 40 years we knew each other, no matter what was going on in our lives, we always found something to laugh about.  Sue enjoyed life and it was contagious, I feel very lucky to have 'caught' some of her lust for life.

(Yes, this is short, but as Sue knew, one of my goals in getting through Willamette was to never write a paper and I succeeded!)


Lynn Hendrickson

Doney dormmate and friend

Sue's Rules

Sue published these rules in one of her updates during the last year. Mindy, Sue' s sister, has asked me to put them on the website for all to enjoy!

SUE’S RULES

1. You can cry with me, but only if you laugh with me, too.
2. Be kind to each other.  You are a crazy, eccentric group of people with many strong personalities.  That’s why I love you, but it’s also why you’re likely to clash occasionally.  If you are unhappy with each other, keep it to yourselves.  I believe you’re all like Mary Poppins—practically perfect in every way—and will hear nothing to the contrary.
3. Join me for the fight, not for the surrender.  I am living my life, not dying.  Don’t forget that.  Don’t talk to me as if you’re saying goodbye.  The past tense is banished from my vocabulary.  Clean up your language, too, or I’ll have to wash your mouth out with soap (as my mother used to threaten).
4. Pray, chant, curse the gods or beam positive karmic thoughts my way--whatever works for you.  I am gratefully accepting any and all modes of healing you have to offer.  I’m envious of those of you who have strong faith, but you’re going to have to accept that I might not share it.  My faith is in you.
5. Vote Democrat.  Oh well, I just thought I’d try to get that one past some of you.
6. Don’t tiptoe around me.  I don’t imagine that I’m going to get any less impatient or irascible, so you’ll just have to deal with it—as you always have. 
7. Get a flu shot.  Dr. Orlowski’s assistant suggested that those who intend to spend time around me should do this, as some of the possible treatments might leave me vulnerable to whatever crud is going around.  I’ll want to see you, so protect yourself and me at the same time.
8. Stay tuned for more rules.  I’m sure I’ll come up with some new ones.

Best Friends Forever

Shirley and Sue Swinging - 1950's

When I think about Sue I realize although she was my cousin, she was really my first best friend. Our Fathers were brothers and Sue was born 6 months to the day after me. Back in the 1950’s our parents were each others best source of entertainment. Card games on Saturday nights, Camping trips several times during the year (rain or shine), swimming at Conn Dam and sleep over’s made up the core of our existence; Sue and I were side by side through in all. 

Shirley and Sue - 1970's

As Sue’s family grew there were two more Sisters added to the group, but Sue and I were the leaders of the pack. The day was not complete until we had sung “Mindy let a windy” and laughed till we wet our pants, a tradition we continued into our adult years. Our paths went in different directions as we became adults, I married young and had a child, she went to college (Sue’s intelligence was always amazing to me, Rauch’s were not know for their smarts!) and became a woman of the world as she traveled in her job. 

Cousins - Mindy, Sue, Shirley and Laurie

No matter how far away our paths went, we would see each other at least once a year for our annual camping trips and it was as if we were still in the back yard planning our next adventure. I loved her sense of order and fairness, her love of reading and games, her ability to laugh, even at herself, but most of all I loved her ability to love others. 


Enjoy heaven and let my Dad win every once in a while. 


Shirley Rauch Clauss
Cousin and BFF

The Start of the Elephant Phase

Sue and Betsy - Thailand 1989

Side view - Sue and Betsy still hanging on!

Elephant rides are great!

Shared by......

Betsy Gilchrist
Doney Dormmate and Friend

Great Aunt Sue

Hey, Elizabeth and  Alexandria,

I first met your Great Aunt Sue in 1972 and had the pleasure of knowing her for 38 years.   She was one of those people who lived a big life.   She collected friends the way a mangy dog collects fleas.  Her schedule was always full but she still managed to have a peaceful time every morning by getting up early and spending some time drinking a cup of coffee and reading her latest book before she went to work.

In 1972 I was a lowly college freshman and she was an sophisticated sophomore.   Chance had put my roommate Ann and me in the room next to Sue.  During that year, Sue taught me how to flip the bird which was an important life skill for an 18 year old in 1972.  If you need to practice, balance a pen between your little finger and thumb and fold your other two fingers over the pen leaving the middle finger...you can figure out the rest for yourself.   Sue frequently wore her A&W shirt.   Her obituary mentions the fact that she played softball and was accepted to Stanford but the way that I remember her stories it seemed like working at the A&W might have been more important to her teenage life.  Sue had an overstuffed chair in her dorm room and people would gather there to talk.   She liked to go to the coast and sit on a blanket eating crackers, cheese and summer sausage.   One of the things that most astonished me about Sue was the way that she would take notes during class.  My notes were full of sentence fragments and dashes but Sue's appeared to be smoothly written complete sentences and paragraphs.  

Sue lived her values.   She loved her family and friends.   She was always willing to add to her legion of friends and welcome new people into her life.   She appreciated intelligence and, perhaps even more, education and that led her to a career at Willamette.   She loved spring flowers and planted hundreds of bulbs.   She loved her dogs, first Hank and then Rex, and was always ready to have friends' dogs over to play. 

During the last 15 years of her life, Sue, Shelley, Cindy and I used to get together to play pinochle, dominoes and Quiddler.   Just like flipping the bird, Sue taught me how to play pinochle.  Sue almost always kept score.   She complained occassionally but mostly but she wanted to do it.  I think that was her way of maintaining order.   Sue loved order and she loved rules.   She felt like they should all be followed faithfully no matter how silly.  If the rules said to click the last domino before playing it, she wanted you to do it.   On that one, she didn't get her way but she continued to mention it.  Games always came with food and Sue had her quirks, most notably the no mushrooms rule.  And there were books, lots and lots of books traded over the years.

The absolutely silliest thing that I ever saw your Aunt Sue do was when we were at the beach and she made some spaghetti pie.   The next morning, she asked if we wanted leftovers for breakfast and I said yes right before she said that it had been left out on the counter all night.   Girls, never ever eat meat after it's been left out on the counter all night.   Sue had done lots of intentionally silly things before but proposing salmonella, oops, spaghetti pie for breakfast was, well, Sue was a smart woman but, that morning, not so bright.  Oh, and one more thing that I learned that weekend was that, even if she had abandoned the NYT crossword for an entire day, you better not touch it.

Sue was a terrific person.   She adored your father, her nephew Dylan.   And then, when you two were born, she adored both of you too.  Always know that her love surrounds you.

Jackie Coakley

Doney Dormmate and Friend

Smart. Direct. Funny

Smart. Direct. Funny.

Simple words, but the ones that keep coming to mind when I think about Sue. Someone I consider a great mentor and friend.

The first time I met her was in the parking lot of my high school when she came for a school visit. I was in my Willamette sweatshirt and she immediately thought I was nuts. During her session with my classmates in the school library, she eventually asked me to be quiet or leave because I kept filling in details about Willamette (I knew I was going).  It wasn’t the last time she got irritated with me and filled me in on why. In the following years she gave me an earful when I:

- didn’t produce enough foam for her latte in the Bistro

- subcontracted my work study job out to some full-time employees

- let a legally blind person drive the admission car in the Sparks parking lot

- forgot to clean up her house after house sitting when I was a senior

- gave a really bad speech – when everyone else raved, she and I knew it stunk and she pointed out all the problems and why it was awful

She taught me the value of being direct with others.  Being honest, always loyal.  Her humor was infectious.  On days I worked hard for her in the admission office, I know she worked harder – interviewed more prospects, read more files – and documented and synthesized all of the information in a much more coherent and useful way than any of the rest of us.

She always checked in, danced with me at my wedding, sold me her car – interest free – and always gave me a place to crash when I came back to Salem.  She was one of the best that Willamette ever produced – a true friend, a treasure and someone that I already miss.

Chris Simmons 

Prospective student, enrolled student, work study student, 
house sitter, employee, colleague, admirer, friend OF Sue

Help Me Rhonda!

My name is Sarah Jennings and I worked at Willamette for 18 years and had the honor of working with Sue from time to time.

About 17 years ago, Sue called me in the dean's office and said "help me"  -   for reasons that I do not know, I broke out singing "help me Rhonda, help help me Rhonda!"  We both started laughing and from that time forward we called each other Rhonda!  It was a true bonding moment and served us well - it was something that always made us smile.

Thank you for letting me share my fond memory of Sue.

Sarah a.k.a. Rhonda

Friend and Former Colleague

That's My Cousin!

Sue visits Napa - 1988

I always admired my older cousin Sue. She was the same generation as my Mom, but was always someone I loved to hang out and talk with.  She went to college, had a "career" and not just a job, was an outspoken-unabashed feminist, read a book a day, and had a wicked sense of humor.  I really wanted to do and be all of those things too, and loved to hear her opinions and stories.  I can remember her going on and on about the Equal Rights Amendment.  I didn't know anyone else who talked about this stuff!

In this photo Sue had come to Napa to speak to students at our local high schools about Willamette.  I can remember hearing her name in the daily bulletin and saying "That's my cousin!"  I would go see her at lunch, and she'd be all dressed up in her best business suit.  So different from when I saw her camping.  We also would have dinner with her, and I loved to hear about her latest trip to Asia and what books she had read.

I'll always remember the family reunion we had summer of 2003.  We were staying in the WU Lodge, with amazing views of the river.  "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" was coming out while we were on our trip.  Sue had pre-ordered her copy to arrive in Eugene.  She picked up copies for Mindy and I as well, and we spent our days on the river sitting side by side buried in our books. At night we would talk about what we had read, although Sue was so far ahead she would have to be careful not to ruin the story.

 
Cancer claimed another great one. I will always carry a little piece of Sue with me in my love of books and learning, feminism and terrible jokes.  I know she is curled up with a good novel, Hank at her feet.  

Mischief Managed Sue.

Seana Wagner

Cousin

"ElFranco"

Shelley, Teresa & Sue - ElFranco's Staff - 1985

Sue, Teresa Hudkins and Shelley Sump, but particularly Sue, loved spoofing me by pointing out my resemblance to Groucho Marx.  So nose glasses became code for the boss “ElFranco”.

In the mid-80’s they took a series of pictures of themselves in the University Center decked out in nose glasses and big Groucho cigars.

For my retirement they gave me their version of the 1984—86 Willamette University Catalog cover. 

I think this picture makes clear how much fun Sue, the ring-leader, is having. 

Sometimes when she got off a good “Groucho” joke she would almost double over with laughter.          

                       

Frank Meyer

Former Colleague and Very, Very Good Friend

Willamette Never Had a Better Friend, and Neither Did I

Sue and Judy at Sue's 50th Birthday Party

"Willamette Never Had a Better Friend, and Neither Did I"

by Judy Basker

"to be posted soon"

Do not stand at my grave and weep,

I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am in a thousand winds that blow,

I am the softly falling snow.

I am the gentle showers of rain,

I am the fields of ripening grain.

I am in the morning hush,

I am in the graceful rush

Of beautiful birds in circling flight,

I am the starshine of the night.

I am in the flowers that bloom,

I am in a quiet room.

I am in the birds that sing,

I am in each lovely thing.

Do not stand at my grave bereft

I am not there. I have not left.

written in 1932 by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Strong Willed Women

I remember when I first arrived at Willamette in my position as Vice President.  Sue and I danced around each other for about a month, when one day she candidly said to me “I wasn’t sure this was going to work out.  After all, when you interviewed, you hardly acknowledged me.  Now I see that we are just two strong-willed women who want the same results. We’re going to be okay.”  That cracked me up, and still does and always will, because it was so Sue.

Robin Brown
Former Colleague and Friend

He Only Takes the Best

Every time I think of Sue, I remember this little saying that I received when I lost my mom last June. 

"God saw her getting tired and a cure was not to be. So He put His arms around her and whispered "come to me." With tearful eyes we watched her, and saw her pass away. Although we loved her dearly, we could not make her stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hardworking hands at rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best."

Linda Lombard
Colleague and Friend

The Master Plan

S.W.A.K.

The plan was that as several of us along with Sue, as we reached our more advanced years, would live together in some sort of retirement community for aging boomers. As Sue said, “It would be a place where you could pick up a pinochle game or have a discussion on current events or the latest book you were reading 24/7”. Perhaps it would have been called something like “The Pinochle Hills Gaming and Literary Society”. That was plan.

Who is up for Spirit Mountain?

This concept grew from discussions that took place for over 25 years during our almost monthly pinochle games. Sue was very much the catalyst for these gatherings. She had regaled her friends with stories about playing pinochle with the Rauch family. Several of us had played pinochle growing up. However, those who were interested in good conversation and books, Sue taught to play the game. We would often jockey to be Sue’s partner. Partnering with Sue often increased your chances of winning because she actually paid attention to the game!

Sue loved to read!

These afternoon gatherings were spent playing cards and discussing topics such as “How do dogs tell time?” “If you were a color, what color would you be?” “What would it be like to travel through a black hole in the universe?” We also spent time trying out various recipes, trading books and celebrating birthdays, holidays and personal accomplishments. One afternoon, inspired by reading something in “Under the Tuscan Sun”, we dipped strawberries in eight different varieties of balsamic vinegar and rated the results. Oddly enough, the Safeway private label vinegar received our highest ratings.

Sue always brought the latest news about the university, her family and other friends to these gatherings. It provided a continuum to our ties with Willamette and the many people Sue had introduced us to over time. I will miss these news updates, stories of others and access to her opinions. I still reach for the phone when I think of something to share with her, or when I think, “I wonder what Sue would think about this?”

When I was a child, whenever someone in our family passed away, my mother use to say, “ The pinochle game in heaven just got another player!” For years my vision of the afterlife has included catching up with those who have passed before you and joining them at that big table in the sky.

"There's no place like home!"

I have no doubt that Sue has reached that place. And after greeting and reuniting with her Grandma Rauch, Granddad Charlie, Grandma Lena, uncle Bud and others, she has settled into a game. I am more than sure she has taken time to verify the rules and to make sure they are all playing out of the same rulebook.  And has insisted on “no table talk”.

I do know that the monthly pinochle games will continue. However, there will be a really big void in the space Sue filled.  With her absence, the conversations are likely to be less lively, less opinionated and probably less imaginative. I will miss her so much.

Shelley Sump

Friend and Former Colleague

With Love From Singapore

Sue and Hank - 1998

Here's one of the pictures I have of Sue (and Hank) when my husband Allen and I visited her in 1998. She generously let us stay at her house for a week or so, and as usual made us feel welcomed by being her unassuming, open-hearted, humorous self. I realised as I spoke with my husband to come up with some stories of Sue that she was kind and generous and funny in so many little ways that it was difficult to pinpoint a story in particular. When I was a student at UW she would always open her home to me during the holidays and took me to rent tons of movies and let me watch as many as I wanted and eat as many cookies as I wished. Her home was a haven to me, a place of rest and rejuvenation. When my mother and two sisters visited, Sue invited us for a night's stay (or two?) and was so good natured about us crowding her house and making so much noise. My family as well was fond of Sue. Sue would conscientiously collect books I have written and anthologies in which my stories or plays have appeared. She told me she wanted to collect everything I wrote. I am touched and honored by this genuine gesture of friendship, support and encouragement. Sue was really a wonderful person. Mei Ching Tan Willamette Graduate and Friend

Thoughts about Sue

Sue and Laura - Hawaii 2006

I am attaching a few photos from a trip to Hawaii that several of us went on in 2006 - I am grateful to have memories from that trip that include Sue. 

Surrounded by friends and fun!

Look what is for dinner! Oink!

If I could tell the girls something about Sue I would say that she never did anything half-way.  Sue laughed hard, cried without hesitation, played fully and worked unceasingly.  She is an inspiration to me to stop holding back.  Sue loved to have a good time and didn't put off doing things.  Her commitment to work is unmatched. Sue was always honest - you never had to wonder where you stood with her.  She did not put up with insincerity but was deeply committed to the people she trusted.  Sue was thoughtful and generous in ways that were tangible.  When someone needed a place to stay she was always the first to offer a bed - never hesitating to consider whether or not it would be convenient for her.  When my daughter graduated from college Sue said that if she didn't have a place to live and didn't want to go back home, she could live with her. Sue adored her grand-nieces and delighted in sharing cute stories about something they had done or said.  I hope they will remember her but if they ever want to be reminded of her there are many people who loved Sue who will welcome the opportunity to talk about her. This past year Sue and I never missed a chance to say "I love you" to each other.  When I saw her on Saturday the 15th of January, that is the last thing we said.  I will always treasure that.  I am so blessed to have known Sue and I am honored to say that she was my friend. Laura Collins Friend and Colleague