Sue Francis Goddard Mixon

Sue Francis Goddard Mixon Born: Nov 15, 1917 (Spruce Pine, AL) Died: July 29, 2013 (St. Petersburg, FL) Mixon, Sue Francis Goddard, Age 95, died on July 29, 2013. A firecracker Southern gal, Mama Sue was always a story in the making. As a child growing up in Bear Creek, Alabama, she picked cotton in the fields to help the farm and make money. She once picked 305 lbs. of cotton in one day - it was the talk of the town. Along with her siblings Mae Jean, Nelda, and Paul, Sue lived through the Great Depression without electricity, phone, radio or a real bathroom. The daughter of A.A. and Viola (Sumner) Goddard began sewing at age 11, making clothes for family and neighbors. After graduating from Phillips High School (Class of 1935), she entered nursing training in Birmingham in 1936. There she met Jack D. Mixon and fell in love. Wearing a long blue satin gown as a wedding dress, they married on April 4, 1939. They bought a small house and soon two daughters - Patricia Ann (1940) and Betty Jean (1941) were born. Six years later, they packed up and moved to Daytona Beach, FL. Sue's talent as a professional seamstress soon made her well-known in the Daytona Beach area and earned her a good living. During the 1950s, Sue was a member of several women's bowling leagues earning doubles, scratch, and handicap championship titles. The love of bowling was shared with her daughter Betty and together won Women's Double Titles. Sue was also an avid golfer and insisted on "playing with the men". She never used a caddy or golf cart and loved teaching the sport. In 1986, she was mentoring and playing a round of golf with then eleven-year-old Scott Mitchel Johnson when he used a 3-wood to score a hole in one on the 16th hole at the Daytona Beach Golf and Country Club's North Course. Little would she know that the following spring, her beloved Jack would die unexpectedly at age 68. After sewing most of her life, Sue turned her talents to knitting. She would knit everyone she knew sweaters and hats. She joined a knitting club that made hats and scarves for the needy. Sue was an excellent gardener and cook. Her yard was always beautiful with blooming flowers and shrubs. Even into her late 80s, she still weed whacked and mowed her own lawn. She would make cakes and all kinds of desserts for everyone she knew and no one would ever refuse her famous banana pudding. Sue loved cats. First silver Persians, then Siamese and Himalayans. Later in life, every stray cat in the neighborhood would be loved and fed. She always believed her late husband was watching over her through the cats. In the early 90s, Sue moved to Orlando to be closer to family. There she volunteered for many years at the local nursing home. Sue was a very independent woman, even after the car keys were taken away, she still walked two miles every day to the store for groceries. Always wearing something red, Sue could talk a blue streak to anyone that would listen. Sue's ashes will be buried with her late husband Jack in Volusia Memorial Park, Ormond Beach, FL. Sue was preceded in death by: Husband Jack Dale Mixon, Sisters Mae Jean Goddard and Nelda Eileen Goddard Sills, Brother Paul Goddard, Great Grandchild Kelly Dale McConnell. Sue is survived by: Daughters Patricia Ann Voelker (Lexington, SC) and Betty Jean Watson (Pinellas Park, FL). Grandchildren Virginia Sue Brengle, Rebecca Jean Watson, Christopher David Watson, Amy Sue Voelker. Great Grandchildren Nicholas Joseph Brengle, Hayley Sue Brengle, and Alexander James Roberts. Private cremation services have been planned. David C. Gross Funeral Homes, Central Avenue Chapel in St. Petersburg is serving the family. Service Information