My name is Derek, and I am fundraising for my mom, Sue. She passed away on 11/10/23 after a long hospitalization and pneumonia complications. She really only had me as far as close family support, and had no life insurance or savings. My family has been in terrible financial shape for the last 2 years, due to only having 1 income and having our first child this year. As a result we are completely ill equipped for burial costs. We are not even planning a service, we simply want to do cremation and ashes scattered in accordance with her wishes. I have no financial support as everyone else in my extended family is also struggling. So we have to reach out to the masses. Any help would be greatly appreciated and every penny will go directly towards the costs of cremation, an urn, and to taking care of her belongings. Read below to learn more about the amazing lady that you would be helping lay to rest. In the small town of Bamberg, Germany on Thursday, September 16th, 1954 Sue Ann Dodson was born and adopted by her American parents- Jack and Barbara Dodson, and was brought to the U.S to live in Tulsa Oklahoma. When she was 18 she left Oklahoma to join her mother (now remarried) in Las Vegas, Nevada. There she met her first husband-Fred Willis and became Sue Ann Willis (which is what everyone, including her children knew her as). Though it would not be her last marriage, in name (as well as the life long friendship and love of Fred and Sue) it was really the only one that mattered to her. After a number of jobs from keno running and cocktail service to phone operator, she had her first child, Alyssa, in October of 1980. In August of 1987 she had her second child, me, Derek. She quickly started working as a daycare teacher to better equip herself as a parent. Teaching me to read at a young age was always something she was very proud of and we were an absolute team. We worked together on homework for me and work training for her when she got a job at an airline (which she always said was her favorite job because we got to travel.) We often traveled to visit family in Tulsa, and took vacations to California and Hawaii. My mom loved talking to people and could chit chat with anyone while walking the dog or at the grocery store, anywhere. She only had a few close friends over the years, but boy was she social! Not to mention, adventurous. She tried bungie jumping, she took me to the shooting range, we went horseback riding, played laser tag, went river rafting, and even boating on the Colorado River. She encouraged me to do standup comedy in 4th grade, which fueled my love of performing and making people laugh. She was always supportive of me playing heavy metal guitar even though she was a flower child through and through. She would always find modern music that she liked and never fell in to the “my generation had better music” trap. She loved the Beatles, Eric Clapton, the Doors (she even met Jim Morrison!) the Bee Gees, Yes, the eurythmics, Country, Rock, Pop, Metallica, System of A Down, Adele, Hozier, everything. She always said she was in love with Rob Zombie. She was equal parts “Susie Homemaker” and “Mosh Pit Mama.” She continued to do interesting and eclectic jobs, including limo driving, and eventually came full circle to what was one of her first jobs- telephone operator for a large hotel, where she worked until she retired in 2017 to join me and my wife as we relocated to Beaverton, Oregon. It was a very hard transition (and a very rough time) for all of us, but she said constantly “I love it out here!” “Im so glad we came!” “Thank you so much for bringing us to this wonderland!!” (She was very dramatic and always used huge metaphors and strange imagery to describe feelings, something I inherited big time.) She absolutely loved living here and loved being around the trees and rain and colors of fall that she had missed out on in the desert. She was very active and always lived independently (though a lifetime cigarette smoker) and loved to walk around and shop and chat with whoever would listen. Starting in about 2024 her health slowly, but noticeably, started deteriorating. Whilst in need of a hip replacement, Sue struggled with chronic pain from multiple surgeries dating back years and with overtake of medication, which caused her a few hospitalizations over the years. As her physical and mental health continued to decline she began needing a walker and then wheelchair. Then she got one hip replaced but soon had malnutrition and medication issues ending up in the hospital followed by a nursing home/rehabilitation hospital. For 2 years the cycle of improvement and decline continued, and we had just established care with an in home care program, when she fell and broke her arm, necessitating another hospitalization and trip to rehab hospital…which turned into 2 months…then she got pneumonia, then it didn’t improve as they expected and they took her to the hospital for higher level treatment… which turned into 2 months, which consisted of tests of every conceivable variety which uncovered congestive heart failure and ended in “we don’t know why she’s not getting better despite our best efforts.” She spent the last several months of her life away from her home and it snuck up on her and everyone else. Her lungs just couldn’t keep up anymore and now this amazing, funny, sweet lady is gone and the world is less for it. Goodbye my sweet Mama, I love you the mostest!
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