Suzanne Louise McWilliams

Suzanne L. McWilliams, age 83, passed away peacefully on Friday, August 2nd 2024, at UC Health, Greeley, Co. She was born December 3rd, 1940 in Dayton Ohio to Jacob Edward Hershberger and Louise Koester. 

 Sue grew up on a farm in Dayton Ohio with four siblings. At ten years of age, her mother passed away leaving her father to raise them alone. Sue loved to share her family stories.  

  Her brother Ed recently told a story when Ed and Sue at the ages of four and five respectively, ran away from home. They got hungry and Sue stole a box of Ritz crackers from a store. They ate them on the lawn in front of the goody goody  restaurant. The police came and returned them home. Their punishment was to sit in a chair for an hour, where Ed cried the entire time and Sue rocked in a chair, singing and swinging her legs. 

   Her sister Betsy relayed a story. When they were little, their mother made them drink cod liver oil. On one occasion, their mother stepped away, and the kids poured it in the drain. When their mother returned, she was delighted to see they drank it all. Sue replied that she drank all of hers, but Betsy poured hers in the drain. 

Sue later enrolled at Ohio State University. There, she met her first husband, got married and moved to Reno, Nv. There she had two children, Sonya and Soren. Sonya sadly preceded her mother in death. Sue worried for her daughter every day of her life. At 62 years of age, Sonya sorrowfully passed away. Sue was terribly saddened, but now could rest knowing her daughter was safe. 

In 1976 Sue remarried to a gent by the name of Gary McWilliams. Gary had two children, Marnie and Danny.  Sue and Gary spent most of their working lives with BLM in Alaska.  When they retired, they enjoyed many trips to various countries in Africa.  

Unfortunately, Gary passed away in 2009. Sue carried on the spirit of sharing her journeys with her son until she became too tired to travel. 

Later in life. Sue and her family continued to always communicate over the phone and share their stories. Sue also loved meeting up with her many friends in the Red Hat group. Sue had many friends and will be dearly missed. 

Sue is survived by her two sons and one daughter, two brothers and one sister, her grandson Loren, who will miss her dearly, and six other grandchildren. 

When Sue passed, her two sons and her daughter Marnie and grandson Loren, were at her bedside. We all cried as she told us how much she loved us all. Shortly after, we watched her draw her last breath. An amazing era of a woman who had a great life and was so thoughtful to all her family and friends. Her love for her family and friends will leave a legacy for many years.  

 Sue McWilliams will be dearly missed. 

There will be a graveside service at Mountain View Cemetery in Nunn CO On Wednesday August 14th starting at 10:00AM.