Susie Sellers
SUSIE SELLERS
December 15, 1934 – May 22, 2017
Oskaloosa, Iowa | Age 82
Susie Sellers, 82, formerly of Oskaloosa, IA, passed away May 22, 2017, at her home in Evans, Colorado. Susie was crafted from one part sass, one part humor, and one part love on December 15, 1934, in Mystic, IA by Kenneth Hunt and Marguerite Magnall.
Susie was raised in Mystic and graduated from high school in 1952. She attended Broadlawns School of Nursing and became a proud nurse in 1955.
Susie traveled the US and the world as part of an Air Force family, giving birth to two sons in California and Japan along the way. While nursing in Centerville, she met Jimmie Sellers of Oskaloosa, IA. The two were married July 15, 1972, in Mystic, and they began their version of the Brady Bunch after relocating to Oskaloosa. It took a picnic table to hold them all, but somehow the families were raised.
Susie retired from the surgical unit at Mahaska County Hospital in 1997, and she began a well-earned retirement. In the summer of 2016, she and Jimmie relocated to be closer to family in Colorado, where she enjoyed a steady diet of Bingo parlors and Italian restaurants.
In her early years, she was quite active as a member of the Mystic girls’ basketball team and went to the state finals tournament. Later on, she enjoyed riding a motorcycle until the handlebars came off. She was known to tackle her boys in her white nurse’s uniform when the situation called for it. Being involved with raising four boys and two girls was challenging, but all the kids have come together in her and Jimmy’s honor over the years. They all appreciated her knack for knowing when to shove a cookie in their mouths, pat their heads, or kick them in the rear to keep them going.
In addition to Jimmie, Susie’s family includes two sons: Scott (& Pam) Smallwood of Longmont, CO and Curt (& Janese) Smallwood of Greeley, CO; her step-daughter, Renee (& Rick) Higgins of Security, CO; two step-sons: Randy Sellers and Craig (& Nancy) Sellers of Greensboro, NC; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
Besides her parents, Susie is preceded in death by an aunt, Wilma (& Joe) Close; one step-daughter, Sheryl Kester; three brothers-in-law: Donald, Raymond, and Robert Sellers; and three sisters-in-law: Mildred Dannels, Viola Fowler, and Dorothy Pugh.
A small, private celebration of her life will be held later in Colorado.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association.