Susan Suey L. Moir Emerson

     When Susan L. Emerson walked into the room, those in her company felt energy, an enthusiastic spontaneity. This was just one example of who Susan was and how she impacted those around her. Susan was a clever and gregarious person who always sought out the finest attributes in other people. It was as if Susan wanted to share all of their experiences, revel in their lives and celebrate their discoveries. Susan was tireless and had boundless enthusiasm that would serve her well throughout her life.

     Susan was born on August 15, 1946 at Peralta Hospital in Oakland, California. She was the daughter of Albert & Catherine Moir. Susan was raised in Castro Valley, California. While some who knew Susan might describe her as an idealist, her friends and family understood well that Susan was always in pursuit of life's endless possibilities and opportunities available to her.

     Susan was raised with two siblings. She had two sisters, Barbara and Shirley. Susan was very accepting and supportive of her family. She was perceived as the central person in her family in terms of keeping communication open between the family members. Whenever discord or tension arose within the home, Susan was typically the member who brought about resolution and harmony. These traits served Susan well in her adult life and, along with her wit, outgoing personality, and understanding of others, drew the admiration of many who knew her.

     As a young girl, Susan was able to empathize and identify with a vast array of people and personality types. This quality drew her into a diverse group of friends and acquaintances. Susan was intelligent and had little trouble getting along with her peers. She was almost always the first to jump in when it came to playing games or participating in other childhood activities. In her spare time she liked singing and dancing. Susan had the ability to find amusement with almost any activity she and the many childhood friends she shared might discover.

     During her high school years, Susan responded enthusiastically to any new project and was regularly in search of one adventure after another. She attended Castro Valley High School, however, she received her G.E.D. in 1995. Susan was a very good student, and generally did well in her courses. Susan absorbed as much as she could from all of her teachers and was consistently able to tackle conceptual and abstract problems, using her imagination to master her assignments. For Susan, school often became just an extension of playtime, thanks to her ability to turn just about anything into a game. Classmates considered Susan a good listener, knowing that when necessary, they could go to her to discuss just about anything. Her favorite class in high school was English.

     With a talent for making acquaintances easily which in turn brought her an endless stream of friends, Susan was very sociable and could blend without effort into any social group. Assertive and outgoing, Susan was easy to know and demonstrated a deep concern for others. She always seemed aware of what was going on with people around her and throughout her life she made many, many friends. While growing up, her best friends were her sisters Shirley and Barbara.

     Susan was a natural and creative parent who was willing to provide her family with all sorts of new and interesting experiences. For Susan, parenting was a particularly enjoyable and pleasurable part of her life. Every activity, from chores to bedtime routines, became a game in the Emerson home. Susan's skill at understanding her children's feelings, her sensitivity to their needs, and her gift for gentle persuasion enabled her to find novel solutions to any problem or situation that might crop up. Susan was blessed with two children: one daughter Wendy and one son Richard. She was also blessed with seven grandchildren and two great grand children. Her grand children are Danielle, Jessica, Michelle (Josh), Ashley (Garry), Michael, Tina, Samantha and Susan's two great grand children's names are Destinee and Angel.

     Susan was uplifted by new ideas and was excited by life's possibilities, traits that made her an exceptional worker. Her primary occupation was photo specialist. She was employed at Walgreen's, Safeway, AM-PM and Montgomery Wards. Susan was enterprising, inventive and working against deadlines seemed to energize her. Susan had the uncanny ability to identify a win/win solution to just about any problem, possibly because of her gift for insight. Susan's fellow workers saw her as a supporter and a mentor.

     Because Susan loved to have a broad variety of activities in her life, she took advantage of the opportunity to pursue numerous hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were collecting baseball cards and playing Bingo and Yahtzee as well as doing puzzles and playing computer games. Susan had a knack for being able to multi-task in order to create time for all of her favorite pastimes. However, Susan's ever-present concern for others always took precedent.

     Susan derived much satisfaction from participating in and watching sports. Her charisma, supportive nature and ability to improvise when called upon to do so all made perfect attributes for enjoying a great many sporting activities. Recreational sports included camping and fishing as well as keeping score for her bowling team. Susan was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list were baseball and golf.

     Throughout her life, Susan was actively involved in professional and community organizations. She was compassionate, accommodating and quick to move into action. Always able to build a consensus, Susan seemed to be the person smack dab in the middle of things, working to get things done. Those who had the opportunity to work with Susan usually agreed that when you were involved in an organization with her, it was as entertaining as anything you could imagine. As an adult Susan was a member of the Bowling Team, Awana Youth Group, Hospice and Redwood Chapel.

     Susan was a woman who was dedicated and devoted to her faith. She was a member Redwood Chapel and a Christian for 10 years. During that time, she was active in the Awana Youth Group. She was sympathetic and able to empathize with others and she used these qualities to the fullest while working tirelessly for her beliefs.

     Though she never did anything solely for individual recognition, Susan's ingenuity, resourcefulness, and selflessness, earned her accolades for her many lifelong efforts. Some of her most prestigious awards included Appreciation Awards for both 5 and 10 years from Walgreen's as well as Appreciation Awards from Redwood Chapel for working with the Awana Youth Group.

     Susan's love of improvising in her daily life was a perfect fit for her enjoyment of traveling. Her favorite vacations were ones that were not planned. Traveling in a casual manor fit her personality well. Excited about seeing changing scenery and constantly looking for the enjoyment life could offer, Susan took her vacations seriously, well, as seriously as she possibly could. Favorite vacations included her trip to Mexico with her parents when she was young. She also loved her trips to Lake Tahoe with her family. Her most enjoyable trip was to San Diego to watch Richie graduate from the Navy. At the same time she really enjoyed Disneyland with the grandkids as well as their trip to the snow. Furthermore, she enjoyed all her outings, weather to Arkansas, Monterey, Santa Cruz and most recently to the San Francisco Aquarium to see the Sea Lions as well as her field trip to the U. S. S. Hornet with Tina and Wendy.

     Susan was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Ghost, her grey cat and Max her dog, was a best friend for Ghost, the cat 19 years and Max the dog 20 months.

     There was always a certain style and inventiveness to Susan. She was a dynamic, self-expressive person who was forever looking to celebrate the endless possibilities life had to offer. She had a knack for being clever, creative and witty, and for others, was a joy to be around. While she was often fiercely independent, it seemed as if many others looked to Susan Emerson for inspiration, leadership, wisdom and even courage. Susan was always more than willing to share life's experiences with her loved ones.

Susan Emerson passed away on July 17, 2009 at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, California. Susan fought a long hard but brave battle against cancer. She is survived by her daughter Wendy and her husband Mike as well as her son Richard and his wife Lou. She is also Survived by her grandchildren Danielle, Jessica, Michelle (Josh), Ashley (Garry), Michael, Tina and Samantha as well as great grandchildren Destinee and Angel. Services were held at Guerrero Mortuary in San Leandro California.