On Monday, March 22nd 2021, Carolyn Sue Powell Hester, passed away at the age of 79. Sue – who never liked being called Carolyn – passed at her son’s home in Colorado, surrounded by family and knowing she was loved. She was a loving mother to Patrick and Stanton, Sister to Toni, Judy, Patricia, Randall and E. R. Powell Jr., Daughter of E.R. Powell Sr. & June S. Pierce, and Friend to so many.
Sue was born in Paducah KY on December 7th, 1941. She moved to Chicago at a young age with her parents and siblings, where she met and married her first husband. They had two children, Lana Susan and Clayton Stanton, though Lana Susan passed as a baby. Sue divorced her first husband and eventually married again, having a third child, Patrick Scot.
Separated from her second husband, Sue moved with her two sons, her mother, youngest sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and a dog named Little Bit, to California where her other sisters were living. She settled in Fresno, where she worked cleaning hotel rooms, waiting tables, and eventually tending bar. Sue lived and worked in Fresno over 25 years before moving to Colorado to live with her youngest son, Patrick. In Colorado, she became one of the top tool salespeople at a local Sears before joining WalMart as a cashier.
Sue loved people, and every job she held offered the opportunity to talk to someone new, get to know them even if only for a few minutes, and spread a little sunshine in their day. She also loved holidays but especially Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of her favorite things was jumping into the car and heading to the mountains for the day to roam small mountain towns, enjoy nature and take a lot of pictures. Sue also loved animals, but especially cats, and often fed and took care of neighborhood strays in need of love and a good meal.
Sue is survived by her sons, Clayton Stanton Funderburg and Patrick Scot Hester, her sisters, Judy (John) Funderburg and Patricia Graf, her grandchildren Christopher and Audryanna and several great-grandchildren, plus more cousins than you can count. She was preceded in death by her parents, her daughter, Lana Susan, her first and second husbands, her bothers, her older sister, and a great-grandchild.
A Celebration of Life was held in Paducah, Kentucky for the family on May 22nd, 2021. Her internment was on May 21st, 2021, at Maplelawn Cemetery in Paducah, Kentucky.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to your local animal shelter in her name.