Obituary of Suzanne H. White

Suzanne Hope “Sue” White, 76, of Iowa City, died Friday, March 1, 2024, at her home surrounded by her family.

Sue was born December 25, 1947 in Sigourney, Iowa the middle daughter of Eugene and Janelda (Hudson) Cole. Sue loved being a Christmas baby, saying she never had to go to school or work on her birthday and she was always with her family. In her early years she lived in Frytown and later moved to Riverside, Iowa. She went to Saint Mary’s Elementary in Riverside and graduated from Highland High School in 1966. She was a pom-pom girl and baton twirler (however her baton never went into the air) in high school. She never missed a chance to attend a school dance and was usually the first one out on the dance floor.

After graduation Sue moved to Iowa City with some of her high school girl friends.  That is where she met Bob White. Bob and several of his friends lived in the upstairs apartment of a house, while Sue and her friends lived downstairs. After an initial wariness of the wild boys upstairs, Sue was smitten. Bob and Sue were inseparable after that and were married July 8, 1967 in Riverside, Iowa, a union that lasted over 56 years. Bob and Sue soon welcomed two children, John in 1968 and Amy in 1971. Sue lived the rest of her life in Iowa City when she was not traveling or camping along the Cedar River.

After graduation, Sue worked at Breese’s Auto Parts and then in the business office at the University of Iowa. After Amy was born, Sue stayed at home and ran a daycare. Taking care of babies and children was her favorite job. When both her kids were in elementary school Sue went to work at NCS (Pearson). She retired from Pearson after working more than 30 years. After retirement she worked briefly at Walmart in the bakery department. This job fit her well as she loved to bake. Sue made the best pies and cookies and loved sharing her baked goods with family and friends.

Even though Sue was a Christmas baby, Halloween was her favorite holiday. She never missed an opportunity to dress up and spray her hair an interesting color. Her costumes were always home made and very elaborate.

Sue was an animal lover and the house was never without a pet or three or more. Some pets were typical family pets; like dogs and cats, but they also had a raccoon, several ferrets, snakes (although these made her squeal), lizards, salamanders, fish, turtles, and gerbils.

Sue loved to read, a passion she got from her father. She always had a book with her, she loved all genres of books, but her all time favorite book was “Gone With The Wind”. Sue loved movies, especially classic movies. She knew all of the actors and actresses and what movies they had starred in. Later in life she began an obsession with old westerns, she couldn’t get enough of Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, Laramie, and High Chaparral.

Sue had many hobbies, including knitting, crocheting, sewing and jewelry making.  She made several pieces of clothing for herself and Amy and sold her jewelry for several years at local Thieves Markets. Sue loved taking pictures although Bob would say photography wasn’t her strong suit. Once the film was developed, many of the pictures were of the same subject (and then she got double prints).  She was a resourceful at do-it-yourself projects with a firm belief that E6000 glue could fix just about anything.

Bob and Sue were avid campers spending most weekends camping. Early camping was done in a canvas tent either on an island in the Cedar River or local campgrounds. They moved up from tent camping to a pop-up camper, then a pull behind camper before finally, in 1991, when they built a cabin on land they owned along the Cedar River. Spending time at their cabin, fishing and walking in the timber was a large part of their life.  Sue loved sharing “cabin life” with anyone that would come for a visit.

Bob and Sue loved seeking new adventures and places. They enjoyed attending family reunions in Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and South Dakota. They spent many days traveling around Iowa and South Dakota while doing genealogy research. In 1998, Bob and Sue went on the trip of a lifetime visiting Prague and Vreskovice (Bob’s paternal grandmother’s birthplace) in the Czech Republic.

Sue will be remembered for her kind heart, her loving nature and her delightful sense of humor.

Sue is survived by her husband, Bob; her children, John White and Amy Dalton; three grandchildren, Jared, Randi (Brandon) Feldman,  and Abigail Dalton; a great-grandson, Emmett Dalton and a great-grandchild arriving in June 2024; two sisters, Barb (Jerry) Higgins and Pat (Galen) Moffitt, and brothers- and sisters-in-law, Ira Greenstein, Dick White (Ann Schulte), Dennis (Deb) White, Peg Heck, and Steve (Cathy) White; sixteen nieces and nephews, numerous great-nieces and nephews and cousins.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents, her mother- and father-in-law, Robert and Luthiera White; her brother-in-law, Randy Heck; her sister-in-law, Virginia White; and her beloved cousin, Jack Winegarden.

Bob would like to thank his children, John and Amy; his sister, Peg; his sisters-in-law, Pat and Deb; his niece, Beth and Emily and Jaimie at Iowa City Hospice for their compassionate care.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to old Saint Joseph Cemetery or Iowa City Hospice.