Cynthia Sue Maue

On 9/10, at 5:30 p.m., she went outside of her home to put her flag at half-staff & pull some weeds before feeding the stray cats that always come up to her yard like clockwork.

A half hour later, she had a severe stroke after returning inside the home, luckily her son was there to immediately call 911.

She was taken to best hospital possible for her stroke, Advent Health Daytona Beach. They did everything they could for her for 3 days in the ICU.

On 9/14/25, at 12 p.m., her son & an incredible hospice worker named Jessica, got her back home in an ambulance, with her friend Mark Tissier, riding with her, holding her hand & praying she make it home alive. She did.

She was in her favorite spot in the home, on a hospital bed with her sheets & her pillow, in the living room, with her three dogs laying on the bed with her. Her son brought her cats to her as well so they could all see what was going with their mama. Mark & Adam were there by her side the entire time, holding her hands, rubbing her head & shoulders, talking to her, & praying for her. At around 4 p.m., she passed away, but at least at home, which was her wish, & a huge blessing for her son & all of her pets. Her son will now take care of her cats & dogs & never re-home them, out of respect & honor to her.

She grew up in Mascoutah IL and graduated from Mascoutah High School, IL. in 1974.

After graduation, she was a model for a time, with Barbizon Modeling & Talent Agency in St. Louis, MO.

She gave birth to her son Adam on 9/10/78, with Donald Jospeh Parker from Swansea, IL. being the father.

She then lived in Tampa, FL. for about ten years, working many different hard jobs so she could raise her son & give him the best upbringing she possibly could & did. Her Tampa days were some of the best years of her life, thanks to the warm humid weather she loved & the lifelong friends she met & spent time with. In 1988, when her father, her ultimate hero passed, she moved back to Illinois.

Her main careers then became in Real Estate, Interior Design, & as a Land Title Researcher with Wheatland Title Co. When not at work, she liked to read, spend time in her back yards with her pets, listen to her albums & tapes, watch classic black & white movies, as well as her favorite soaps, Young & the Restless and Bold & The Beautiful.

Her main passion & calling was stray, abused, & neglected animal rescue & care.

For the bulk of it all, it was all out of her pocket, never asking anyone for financial help.

She never treated herself to any real luxuries in life, like vacations, spa days, new cars, new clothes etc.

The biggest thing she ever treated herself to was the occasional night out a bingo.

She was there to win money though, so she was the lady who'd have like 25 cards or so, & be in the zone, like a poker player.

She wanted to be left alone to focus, & all she would have is maybe a piece of cake & definitely black coffee, her favorite drink of all time.

She spent any other extra or "fun," money, on all of the rescue's needs in any way, whether it be vet visits, medical treatments, food, treats, etc.

Without exaggeration, in her entire lifetime, she saved &or cared for at least 50-100 pets, it was hard to keep track.

She always kept a clean, organized, & welcoming house though, even with whatever animals lived with her at different points in time, so a lot of her & her son's time were spent cleaning lol. She also donated a lot of her own money throughout the years to charities, specifically animal rescue & children with disabilities/illnesses.

Her motto was, "kids & animals are the most innocent, helpless, & deserving of help, from the rest of us humans."

This a motto that her son has & will continue to carry on, as well as the charity giving.

Her other 2 true passions were definitely politics & writing. She considered herself a conservative democrat & would never back down &or not speak her mind on any issue. Those who know her, know she never hesitated to call politicians, government officials, and the White House, any time something or someone bothered her & lit a fire in her. She wrote a lot throughout the years, online and in letters, especially in the BND opinion section.

She was very proficient in her handwriting skills & wordsmithing, & very poignant in her poetry as well.

She was a true warrior for the downtrodden of any kind, in her words & actions, for both people & animals.

The 2 loves of her life were her soulmate John David Trokey, who passed on March 29th, 2001, & her Boston Terrier Boo Boo, seen in this obit pic, whom she had as a puppy until her passing on March 16th, 2024.

Cynthia & John never married, but they lived like it.

John always considered Adam his stepson, & Adam always considers John as his stepdad.

Cynthia always considered John's son Jason as her stepson, as well as Jason's son Brennan, as her grandson, the only one she ever had.

Cynthia was preceded in death by her father Jerome "Jumbo" Maue, her mother Patrcia Ann Maue, her brother Steven James Maue, her brother-in-law Gary Higdon, her niece/Gary's daughter Nikki, her brother-in-law Dean Belt, loves of her life John Trokey & Boo Boo, her other lifelong dog whom she shared with her son, Ruff Parker Maue, & all of her other fur babies who passed before her. They all meant the world to her & not a day went by that she didn't miss & think about them after all of their passings.

Cynthia is survived by her son Adam, her stepson Jason & his son Brennan, her brother Jerry Maue, & her nephew Eric Hernandez.

She is also survived by her longtime friend & companion, Steve Werner, whom they raised Boo Boo with, all of Adam's lifelong friends whom she treated as her other sons, & a lot of friends (throughout all her years), too many too list, but they know who they are.

She loved & cared for them all & helped or would've helped out any of them any time or way if she could without hesitation!

In lieu of flowers or a funeral service, it was her wish, that anyone who wanted to do anything in her honor or memory, to please donate to the Belleville Area Humane Society, because she said, "I'd rather have any single penny spent for me from others on flowers, funeral or a memorial tribute, to go to helping out cats & dogs needs at the BAHS, where they will always need help, as long as this world turns.