Susan Carole Lee Lawson

Susan Carole Lee Lawson, age 63, passed away December 30, 2024 after an unexpected aggressive cancer diagnosis.

 Susie was born in Sacramento, California, on July 8, 1961, to Maurice and Helen Lee. She was preceded in death by her husband Mark, who passed away a little over two years ago, her brother Gary, and her father Maurice. She is survived by her mother, Helen Lee, and three siblings: Marc (Julie) Lee, Gayle (Dave) Olsen, Paul (Merrie) Lee, sister-in-law Janet Lee; also survived by her four children: Shannon (Cameron) Passey, Lindsay (Matthew) Brunson, Jordan (Kylie) Lawson, and Mitchell Lawson. Survived by her grandchildren: Sierra, Braxton, and Payton Passey; Berkeley, McCall, Clayton, and Graham Brunson, and Jonah and Evan Lawson.

 As a little girl, she lived in Japan with her family as her father served in the U.S. Air Force, returning to the United States and eventually settling in Kaysville, Utah. In high school, she sang in the choir and competed in gymnastics on the uneven bars. She graduated from Davis High School in 1979. She met her future husband, Mark Lawson, when they were lined up by her former choir teacher. Mark and Sue dated briefly and were married on March 14, 1980, in the Salt Lake Temple.

So where to start?

 Susie was a blonde whirlwind; a beauty, and a combination of no-nonsense practicality and wildly creative fun. She never thought she was smart; but instead of book smart, she was people smart. Her many positive traits read like an aspiring Boy Scout: Hardworking, Musical, Brave, Resourceful, Creative, Fun and Funny, Nurturing, ever Kind, and Faithful.

 Hardworking: Sue worked alongside Mark as his share of the nursery business grew, making flower arrangements and eventually stocking the store at the entrance of Tri-City Nursery with her creations and purchases. She had a knack for creating corsages, boutonnieres and flower arrangements, and started her own side business, Susie’s Stems, teaching daughters Shannon and Lindsay how to work magic with flowers. She worked hard on anything she undertook.

 Musical: Susie had a clear soprano voice and loved to sing. She sang with her sister Gayle and they harmonized as they sang “House at Pooh Corner” and “Shower the People,” occasionally being pushed to perform their version of “Leader of the Pack” and “Chapel (Temple) of Love” at family gatherings. She could out-sing anyone, belting out “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair” while on the beach vacationing at Lake Powell, along with an assortment of Whitney Houston songs. She was terrible with lyrics and confessed that she thought “Parson Brown” (from “Winter Wonderland”) was a color. She and her granddaughter Sierra loved to sing at the top of their lungs while weeding in the garden. Whenever the kids got demanding, she liked to sing at them “Whatever Lola Wants”. She liked 70’s songs: Carpenters, Bee Gees, and some from her parents’ era: Frank Sinatra, for one.

 Brave and Resourceful: Susie was in her backyard in Kaysville with her granddaughter Payton, who saw a snake and cried out in surprise. Susie picked up the snake and swung it around, letting it fly over the fence. Another time, she discovered they had not brought a knife when they were ready to cut up a watermelon at Pineview reservoir, and she improvised with a hair pick. She was brave when dealing with the grosser parts of raising children; Mark gagged when dealing with vomit, so Sue was the go-to person when the kids got sick.

 Creative and Kind: These attributes go together because Susie was always dreaming up ways to love her people. The kids loved that when they were little, they each had a turn lying in her lap at church meetings, while she traced their up-facing ear with a pointy finger. Susie loved to help the kids build forts out of blankets and pillows and made charcuterie boards before they were even a thing, putting grapes and cheese and rolls of ham on trays and serving them in the forts. When Shannon had a group of friends over, she taught them how to do back handsprings. She championed all their interests, helping Jordan make bug collections, taking Mitch to go look at and pet horses, encouraging Lindsay’s volleyball playing. She went to soccer games (Brax) and dance recitals (Berkeley) and loved watching the kids perform. She gushed about her kids and her grandkids, and her nieces and nephews, serving up high praise that made them feel happy and valuable. Her grandkids knew they could call her for a lunch date at Taco Time anytime. Just after her diagnosis, Sue made the family go to the Desert Star Playhouse, an annual tradition, because she had bought the tickets previously and insisted that they go have fun. They resisted but ended up going and having some desperately needed belly laughs.

 Sue allowed random pets over the years; she usually didn’t love the pets but loved her kids. Before their giant dog Xena became part of the family, her rule was that all pets must be flushable.

 At times, when the kids got to be too much, she would tell them “The maid is gone, I’m not your mom. She’s on vacation. I’m your Auntie Giselle.” Or she would threaten them “Do you want me to get out Mr. Yardstick or Mrs. Spatula?” Although Sue was a force to be reckoned with, the kids were never intimidated by this.

 Fun and Funny: Holidays were magical: For Christmas, Sue set up a train that puffed out real smoke and had a walking Rudolph toy. The kids had a personal elf named Hepzibob, who wrote them mildly threatening but loving letters. Her Halloween parties were legendary; over the years, Sue and Mark dressed up as KISS, Vikings, and Shrek and Fiona. Sue also made her own Maleficent costume and a Maleficent costume for Shannon, along with a papier mâché dragon, and she most recently dressed as Winnifred Sanderson, along with her son Mitchell and his dog dressed as the other two sisters. She played pirates with Jordan and Mitch for hours. She planned grandma dates for the grandkids and took Braxton to Boondocks, floating around in the boats and receiving a barrage of squirts from Brax and some other kids he recruited, and Sue exited the boat sopping wet. Susie also hated Mark’s harmonica and paid the kids to hide it from him.

 The kids’ anxiety tended to ramp up just before April Fool’s Day—they knew the pranks would be coming their way with a vengeance. Sue substituted potato flakes for cereal and toothpaste for the creme in Oreos. She put plastic wrap over the toilet and wrote on Lindsay’s car window “Honk, if you think I’m cute”. Neighbors were not spared, either. She bought a pile of very large bras from the DI and arranged them on a clothesline in her neighbor’s yard, with a sign advertising “Betty’s Bra Bar”. She also knew how to create authentic-looking dog doo and used it to embellish sidewalks and front porches in her neighborhood.

 Susie spent last fall and winter in St. George, where her sister Gayle and brother Paul were able to spend time with her, a time that was a blessing to them then and is even more so now. They rode E-bikes and enjoyed local restaurants and museums. When Gayle and Sue went to the Rosenbruchs World Wildlife museum full of taxidermied animals, they wandered through the exhibits and paused at the African exhibit. Gayle turned around to see Sue crouched in front of the Lesser Kudu, who stood beside a larger counterpart. Sue was saying, “You’re just as good as the Greater Kudu!” It made Gayle laugh and has been an ongoing saying. Susie, you are the greatest Kudu of all!

 One Christmas when Susie and Gayle’s kids were small, they were being babysat, so the girls went together to the mall to shop for gifts. Feeling pretty great and somewhat giddy about getting out for the day, they made a restroom pitstop first. Sue took a while to emerge from her stall. Thinking Gayle was in the stall next to her, she poked her fingers in her neighbor’s shoes. Then she tap-danced her own feet into the stall, finally grabbing her neighbor’s feet with both hands and trying to “dance” them. After a moment, she was told “I don’t think I’m who you think I am.” She thought she was goofing around with Gayle, but it was actually a very confused stranger.

 Nurturing, Ever Kind, and Faithful: Susie was a caretaker. Early in her marriage, she lived with and took care of Grandma Ivy, Mark’s dad’s mother. Mitch says one of his first memories is of Susie taking care of Grandma Faucett, her mother’s mother. She helped Grandma Delly (Ardella) and with Aunt Lyn, her mother’s wheelchair-bound sister. She came to Lyn’s house at least weekly to clean and took Lyn on errands. She has been a constant and conscientious helper for her parents, noticing what needed to be done and doing it efficiently. She visited them often and took care of her daddy when illness settled in in various forms as he grew older. After he passed away, she took on care for her mother, checking in frequently. Two years ago, when her husband Mark began his painful journey with cancer, she provided most of the care for him. She has seemed most at a loss when there is no immediate need for someone she loves. Her intuitive way of caring has always been one of her strongest gifts.

 At Sunday dinners, with family surrounding her, she often said, in a satisfied way, “This is the best that life can offer,” while the kids would roll their eyes. But she meant it with all her heart. The only thing that made it less than best in the last two years was missing her sweetheart. She sometimes agonized over the heartaches that changed her future plans, feeling that nothing was working out. Even though she was sometimes angry and sad, she said her belief in God and her Savior Jesus Christ was so deeply ingrained in her that she could not let go of it or deny it. Susie was a dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving in many callings throughout several wards and stakes. Additionally, Sue supported Mark and her children in their church calls and missions. She eagerly followed her eldest granddaughter Sierra’s mission progress in Scotland, keeping a map posted in her kitchen covered with sticky notes that noted changes in areas, new companions, and quotes. One of the notes reads: “I know that God has a plan. A beautiful, magnificent plan for each of us. He knows us personally and perfectly. He is in the details of our lives!” Sue and Mark now continue their journey together in the eternities. We’ll miss you, Susie.

 Funeral services will be held Friday January 10, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the Fairfield Ward Chapel, 1085 N. 50 E., Kaysville, Utah. Family and friends may visit Thursday January 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah and Friday from 9:00 to 10:45 a.m. at the church prior to the service.

 Interment will be held at the Kaysville City Cemetery.

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