Sue Henry's Obituary
Sue Henry of Graham, WA passed away at Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup on September 6, 2023. Sue is survived by children Russell, Sally, and Robert, sister, Vernie Dunham, brother-in-law Rick Dunham, and many nieces, nephews and extended family. Sue also had siblings who have now passed on: Nash, Charlene, Nina, Mary.
Sue was born in August, 1939 in California to father William Henry and mother Lottie Henry. Sue's father was an officer in the U.S. Army. Sue grew up in California; Steilacoom, WA; Virginia; Stuutgart, Germany; Okinawa, Japan. Sue attended Clover Park High School. Sue worked briefly at Western State Hospital before marrying John Stahle. Together they renovated a modest house in South Tacoma and started a family. Sue was a stellar homemaker, seamstress, and mother, and played hostess to neighbor kids who came over to play. The family enjoyed camping in their camp-trailer at Sunset Trailer Court at Ocean Shores in the 1960s-1970s. John and Sue dug razor clams on these trips, much enjoyed by the whole family! Sue and sister Vernie both had horses which they boarded at various locations, and sometimes brought their ponies to the Tacoma house so they could help out fundraising-fairs for nearby Jennie Reed Elementary school by offering pony rides for kids. Sue and John used their rickety horse trailer to help collect newspapers for recycling (in the days before curbside recycling) to help recycling-fundraisers for Jennie Reed Elementary. John and Sue were thrifty which enabled them to purchase a rental home in Tacoma and then property in Graham, where Sue and her sisters sometimes pastured their horses after John, Sue, Vernie, and ex-husband, Larry, fenced-in pasture area on the land with fenceposts they crafted from the property that had been logged recently before it was purchased by Sue and John. Sue designed the house that she and John partially built together with John's craftsman father, Howard. In 1979 John and Sue divorced. Sue and daughter Sally moved into the partially built house in October, 1979. Sue's father, William, worked together with Sue's brother, Nash, and Sue's old high school friend, Dennis, to finish the work that was needed on the house's exterior.
Sue met Cecil Lenderman in 1981, at the VA Hospital where Sue worked and where Cecil was a fireman. Sue continued to work on finishing the inside of the house, by herself, and also with Cecil, through the early 1990s. Outbuildings were added. Sue hired a contractor to build a large detached garage on the property. Sue and Cecil also hired a contractor to build a deck off the back of the house. Sue planted vintage variety apple, and pear trees on the property in the 1970s. 4 of the trees are still standing in the front yard today, and the apple trees remain fruitful. Sue canned a lot of applesauce over the years, and also dried apples in her food dehydrator. Sue and Sally created a vegetable garden in the front yard before they moved into the house. Sue and Cecil continued working on the garden and growing a few vegetables and lots of rhubarb through the mid-2000s. Sue and Cecil were partners from the early 1980s until Cecil passed away at The Old Soldier's home in Orting in 2017.
Career: Sue began doing clerical work at her father's real estate office, Henry Real Estate, in Steilacoom in the early 1970s. After working in the office all day, Sue frequently worked with John in the evening on cleaning and refurbishing rental properties for the real estate company. Russell and Sally would sleep on the floor until Sue and John finished their late night work. Sue also worked as an aide for a brief time at Lincoln High School in Tacoma. Sue took the Civil Service exam and soon got hired in the position of file clerk at Ft. Lewis (now a part of JBLM). Sue acquired a better position as a file clerk at the Veterans Administration Hospital at American Lake, then worked in scheduling for the ear, eyes, nose, and throat clinic. Finally, Sue was promoted to a better position in Supply/Purchasing, and was later promoted to personal property manager, a job which she enjoyed very much and for which she earned many outstanding service awards over the years. Sue retired in the mid 1990s.
Sue was a friend to shelter dogs and strays through her adult life, and to one stray cat the family called 'Mama Kitty.' Sue bottle-fed Mama Kitty's kittens when Mama Kitty got lost shortly after the kittens were born. Mama Kitty was returned home by a caring person who found her, and the kittens grew to be the most affectionate cats ever due to Sue's bottle feeding them in her fuzzy bathrobe for many, many days, until Mama Kitty returned home.
Sue enjoyed home canning fruit, vegetables, meat and jams; refinishing furniture; reading; and maintaining the Graham property that she loved.
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