Thelma Sue Santa Ana

Thelma “Sue” Santa Ana peacefully went home to the arms of her Lord and savior Jesus Christ Wednesday morning, March 12th, 2025, at the age of 87. She was surrounded by her loving family including her sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren.

It has been said that there is no love like a mother’s love and Sue was no exception. While Sue had tremendous love for her husband Raul for over 65 years of marriage, her deep, fierce love for her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren was unmistakable to anyone who knew her. Sue would do anything for her family and her legacy is the strength of the family she so deeply treasured.

Sue was born on November 20, 1937, in Dekalb County, Tennessee, as the youngest of six children. She was part of a close, loving, farming family in rural Tennessee. Sue was taught in school by two of her sisters and saw her brother serve in WWII. She learned to drive on the farm at the age of 10 and by the time she graduated from Lacassas High School, she was a basketball great once scoring 57 points in a game (no three-point line). Her basketball prowess was driven by a highly competitive spirit and landed her the honor of being named the most athletic female in her class.

After high school, Sue briefly spent time in St. Louis before returning to middle Tennessee where she would meet the love of her life. In the fall of 1957, Sue met Raul Santa Ana, a young Air Force Staff Sargent, while dancing one night at the NCO club on Seward Air Force Base in Smyrna, Tennessee. Just a few months later Raul proposed to her on that same dance floor to the Johnny Mathis hit Chances Are. Shortly after that night they were married and began their life together in Smyrna devoting themselves to career, family, God, and each other.

As a supportive military wife, Sue’s world changed dramatically over the next twelve years. During that span she and Raul had two sons, moved around the country to Anchorage, Alaska, Valdosta Georgia, Ontario California, Charleston, SC, and spent a year apart when Raul was in Vietnam. No matter how far away their travels took her, the farm she grew up on in Milton, Tennessee was always “home” for Sue, and it was a place to which they would always return to see family and get the best tomatoes anywhere!

Sue played many roles including country girl, military wife, working mother, devoted grand and great grandmother, friend, and believer. Never afraid of hard work, Sue was a working mother. In the early days, she worked with the police force in Anchorage and in the mess hall at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta. Then after moving to Charleston in 1970, Sue settled into a 32-year Civil Service career as a Contract Administrator with the Charleston Naval Base, Charleston Naval Weapons Station, and the Charleston Air Force Base. As a Contract Administrator, Sue became the point person on many multi-million-dollar base projects in Charleston and was frequently recognized for her strong work ethic and performance. Charleston became her home that she dearly loved for 51 years. It had everything she loved including great seafood, beautiful scenery, history, and most of all the beach which was her “happy place” all her life.

In addition to being a great basketball player in high school, Sue later became an avid bowler and golfer. Throughout her married life, Sue shared a love for music and dancing with Raul in addition to loving to garden and cook. There are many stories about her cooking biscuits & potatoes, cornbread, pinto beans, fried chicken, and fried shrimp which are just a few of the family’s favorites. Her cooking was so good that when her grandkids would go to her house, they said they were going to Nana Barrel!

More importantly, despite working all day, Sue came home every night and made a full home-cooked dinner for the family. Sue had a deep love for her family, and she showed it through her time and financial sacrifices. Whether it was cooking a nightly dinner after a long workday, engaging in the boys’ golf, basketball, and other activities, joining a country club to provide things for the boys to do, putting her boys through college, or attending countless sporting events, dance recitals, and school functions for grandchildren, loving and supporting her family was very important to her.

Sue also had a tremendous appreciation for beauty. You could see it in her love for beautiful scenery, her own surroundings, and her appearance itself. She loved the beauty of nature which drove her love of beautiful trees, flowers, and shrubs. Here favorites were dogwood, redbud, cherry, azaleas, gardenia, iris, and day lilies. Sue and Raul always had an immaculate yard with beautiful landscaping. The same was true for her house. Even when they didn’t have much, Sue always made sure that the house was decorated and put together beautifully. As far has herself, she was always very stylish, fashionable, and looking beautiful head to toe.

After retiring for good, Sue devoted herself to attending grandchildren activities and events, settled into deep engagement with the Summerville Church of Christ, and developed strong friendships with her church friends. These friends became very close and spent a great deal of time together traveling to places like DC, New England, and Hawaii in addition to having many meals together and many late nights playing Hand and Foot. During that time, Sue’s faith deepened tremendously as she grew closer to the church and her Lord in her later years.

However, the one word that came to define Sue in her later years was resilient. Sue was never daunted by the challenge of technology. Even in her later years, Sue was comfortable and proficient with computers, iPads, iPhones, online banking, voice texting and almost any form of technology. Just several days before she passed and almost blind, Sue hopped onto her cable TV app to fix a TV problem after several others could not figure it out – resilient.

In 2021 Sue and Raul moved to Charlotte, NC to be closer to family in their later years when they needed more help. Leaving Summerville was hard, but she made the difficult choice and embraced the challenge - resilient. Sue battled COPD, macular degeneration, and many other maladies and physical challenges in her last decade but she bounced back time and again and never lost hope thinking that there was always a chance for a cure or a new treatment around the corner - resilient. While she was frail at times, she always kept going and never gave up. With a sharp mind right up to the end, she could engage in a discussion on politics, religion, the economy, and finances recalling numbers and events like no one else - resilient. It was very hard for her after losing Raul.

Despite her grief and failing health, she was determined to remain in independent living – resilient. As she carried on by herself, she developed new close friendships with several people in her community and at Providence Road Church of Christ and they all came to love and support her in her last months – resilient. Ultimately, in the words of one of her and Raul’s favorite singers, she was able to remain independent and “did it her way” – resilient to the very end!

Sue is survived by her two sons, Steve (Kathy) of Charlotte, NC, and Scott (Lisa) of Lawrenceville, GA; six grandchildren, Alyssa Fuqua (Leighton), Sarah Grace Tidwell (Evan), Stephanie Santa Ana, Steven Santa Ana (Carrigan), Ryan Santa Ana (Ellen), and Matthew Santa Ana (Nanda); seven great grandchildren, Cole, Chase, Cave, Haddon, Everett, Gabriel Fuqua, and Jaxon, and her sister Jean Davis of Huntsville, AL.

Sue was preceded in death by her husband Raul Santa Ana, sister Georgia Estes, brother Alvie Estes, sister Nell Owen, sister Irene Frisbee, mother Willie Estes and father Arthur Estes.

There will be a visitation on Friday morning April 4th, 2025 from 10am-11:30 am at McEwen Funeral Service - Pineville Chapel at 10500 Park Road in Charlotte. After the visitation, Sue will be laid to rest beside her husband Raul at an interment ceremony at the Fort Jackson National Cemetery in Columbia, SC at 2 pm.

For those wishing to send memorial gifts, please consider Tunnels to Tower, Wounded Warriors or Levine & Dickson Hospice House at Southminster in Charlotte, NC.

Condolences may be offered at www.McEwenPinevilleChapel.com