Norma Suzanne 'Sue' Paschal

Norma “Sue” Paschal

I have been delaying writing this since my mom passed away. I still don’t know what words to use. Did Mom “pass” from one way of life to another? Is her spirit still with us? I walk into her silent room, see her empty chair and her beloved dog Angel curled up in their shared blankets and I know, “She died. She is no longer with us.” But I also hear her voice whispering in my heart, “I love you. I will always be with you.” I can’t help but feel her love, joy, and kindness moving within me despite my sorrow.
My mom, Sue Paschal, died on January 16, 2022. It is final, but she also “passed” her gifts and spirit onto those she loved and our Creator. I’m thankful for those gifts.
The director at the funeral home asked me, “What was your mom’s occupation?” I paused. I didn’t provide an answer. “What did my mom do?” I asked myself.
Mom absolutely loved and enjoyed life. I find solace in the people who stopped me on the street, sent cards, or stopped by the house to offer their condolences. In unison they said, “Your mom had so much joy. We had fun.”
Mom was married to her best friend, my father, Bob Paschal, for forty-two years. She cooked and kept the house going and Dad kept the cars running and worked to pay the bills. It worked for them. I’m very grateful to my mother and father for loving me, my sister Becky, and every community, Landover, Maryland; Dublin, California; Grandview, Washington; and Wylie, Texas, we lived in unconditionally. They didn’t miss a parent teacher conference, a game, or a band performance while my sister and I were growing up. We knew we could cry on our parents’ shoulders and talk deep into the night about our problems. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for being present and for loving us. Mom loved her family and the communities she lived in.
One friend from Mancos told me, “Your mom was the community grandma. She was always making meals for our kids and going to their school activities.” Mom loved kids and the elderly. As a child, I remember she would disappear at night after supper. I asked Dad, “Where’s Mom?” “Oh, she went to Mrs. Wilson’s.” Mrs. Wilson was our 90-year-old next door neighbor. She and mom would share stories at night over a pot of green beans loaded with bacon. Mom always took an elderly person under her wing and late in her life the favor was returned.
Mom cared for my father for many years before he passed on. Later, her daughter died tragically at the age of forty-two. Mom knew great sadness but her “sorrow turned to joy” as she came to realize each day was a precious gift. On the day she died, I asked her, “Do you have any wisdom on life, Mom?” She smiled at me with her bright blue eyes. “Love more and argue less. Each moment is special.”
Grandma Sue was up for any adventure. As a young mother she climbed to the top of Oregon’s Mt. Hood with my father. As a grandma, she hiked down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon with her grandchildren, Morgan, Andie, and Ro. She loved riding her horses through the Arkansas River bottoms of Kansas in her youth and in the mountains surrounding Mancos later in life. She thoroughly loved and enjoyed every horse, dog, cat, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or goat she had. I remember a friend called her to attend their 40th high school reunion. I said, “Mom’s walking up from the barn right now. She has a rabbit on each shoulder. She’s cradling a guinea pig; and, four dogs, a horse, and a goat are following her.” Her friend said, “Some things never change.” Mom loved her animals. I laugh at the sign in her room that says, “Love is a four-legged word.”
I am so thankful for the love, joy, and kindness Mom shared with me, our family, and our community. Thank you to the Mancos Community and the Mancos UMC for loving and supporting my mom. She loved you all so much. Countless times she told me, “I’ve never been around so many loving and kind people.” Thank you.
Also, thanks to my wife, Jennifer, who loved and supported my mother as she spent the last couple of years of her life living with us. It was not easy, but it was worth it. Mom showed us that you can live a vibrant life with some support and be dying at the same time. She loved and enjoyed each breath.
We will sing a few songs, say some prayers, and have a blessing of the animals, please bring your pets if you’d like, for my mom on Saturday, June 4 at 10:30 A.M. We will meet on the east lawn of the Mancos United Methodist Church. Dress is casual, shorts, jeans, and t-shirts. Bring some lawn chairs to sit on and we’ll have a picnic afterwards.
If you’d like to remember/honor my mom, Sue Paschal, you can send a gift to For Pets’ Sake Humane Society, PO Box 1705, Cortez, CO 81321, or the Mancos United Methodist Church Youth Programs, PO Box 505, Mancos, CO 81328. Have a blessed day.