Susan M. Carter

Susan M. Carter, 61 years of Council Bluffs died July 12, 2018. Sue was born to Don and Norma Tamisiea on March 20th, 1957. (I never forgot her birthday again after I realized that it fell on the first day of spring.) She grew up going to parochial schools until moving to Mo. Valley High School for her final 4 years. During her early formative years, when her folks were working full time, Sue would go to her Grandma Waldren’s after school. She wasn’t really her grandma. However, she probably was the best grandma, in practice, that any person could have had as an influence. Sue always spoke of her Grandma Waldren in the most loving and grateful way. Even at this early age, Sue showed her caring nature. Her brother Francis came along and Sue mostly watched after him and always “bugged” him. That is, until that fateful day when Francis decided her reign of terror must come to an end. Francis flipped her in the front yard of their home and she ended up having to change her clothes before her date arrived.

As Sue approached the teenage years, she realized that she needed to be making some cash so she could have the things and experiences she desired. She started working with her mom at Sunnyside Café and continued to work there until shortly after her daughter, Marie, was born. But, more on this later.

During her senior year of high school, a college sophomore came into her life and everything changed. Suddenly, she and he were inseparable. They married on June 4th, 1977. There were many memories from her wedding day. However, the two that she shared most often with others was that the temperature was 105 degrees and her nephew nearly tore the entire suspension out from underneath his Chevelle when he tried to keep up with Rex, Deb, Sue and her husband in Rex’s Chevy Blazer. Sue and her husband never had a need for anyone other than each other until their daughter, Marie, came along on November 2nd, 1978. It was a tough pregnancy and the risk to Sue would be too great to try to add to the family. So, Sue suggested that she stay home and be a fulltime mother and wife until Marie started school. Being a family was the most important thing for Sue. Her husband happily agreed with this plan. (Later to find out that Marie must have never started school because Sue never made it back to work.) But, she had a fulltime job that she loved. Marie and her husband were the love and focus of her life. They never really understood or fully appreciated everything Sue brought to their lives.

Over the 41 years that Sue nurtured her family, she also made many friends. There was nothing she did halfway. She had two sports she really enjoyed. They were bowling and golf. She was very good at both and was always competing with herself to improve. She was also a very good pool player, thanks to her dad, and was very good with a shotgun. (Better than her husband…….Which led to her husband selling their pool table and guns.) Country dancing was also a big part of her life. Again, she always worked to be good at what she did and made many more friends. She surely enjoyed all these things while making family her first priority. Her biggest joy was just hanging with her husband, whether that was watching TV, watching the birds while relaxing on the deck, or wandering around in their RV or Harley.

When Sue became sick, most of these things were no longer an option for her. But, she still could devote her life to her family. She enjoyed her family on this earth every day. As her health worsened, her daughter, Marie, moved back home to provide support to Sue and her husband. Things had come full circle and Sue had her family surrounding her every day until her last. She is now waiting for them to join her again.

(Editors note: When I decided to document Sue’s life story, I knew I was going to be crying the entire time. But, I found just the opposite to be true. I caught myself smiling and enjoying the look back on Sue’s life. That is exactly what Sue would have wanted. She wants this to be a time of celebration of a life well led. She would want all her friends and relatives to celebrate her life. More importantly, she would want everyone reading this to find something to celebrate every day in their own lives.)

She is preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Francis Tamisiea.

She is survived by her husband, Ken Carter and her daughter, Marie Carter.

Visitation with the family will be Monday 5 to 7PM at the Hoy Kilnoski Funeral Home. Funeral service will be Tuesday 10AM also at the funeral Home. Interment will be in the Branson Cemetery. Memorials may be made to the First Christian Church.