Sue Ellen Celaya - Chase

She was the strongest person I ever met. She was amazing in how she would always turn a bad day good and bring joy to my days. She would help me through anything even if not convenient for her. A huge hole in my life and many others has just opened and though it will never be filled we will all go on and hold dear all of the joy she brought us.

She went through so much starting with Hodgkin’s disease at 16. This was the first of many trials that her very supportive parents Rico and Irene had to face over the years. Of course that did not stop her at 16 from driving her parents’ slug bug to California with a friend, breaking down on the side of the road halfway there, hitchhiking with a trucker back to Phoenix, going out with her dad to get the bug, then borrowing his pickup and heading back out. If she set her mind to something, then it was probably going to happen.

She started her long, successful career with McDonald’s at Broadway and Priest at 16 as well. After her marriage to Richard she was told that, due to health reasons, she should not be able to have children. But they have two wonderful girls who proved that wrong. Every day she spent with her daughters, Alicia and Ashley, always brought extra enjoyment.

Later, while battling one of her many cancers she was on medicine that once again all the doctors said would prevent pregnancy. Despite that Sue and I had a wonderful son. Ty would always make her day when he came home from school, at breakfast or just shopping. She continued on with McDonald’s and was a recipient of one of the first ever Ray Kroc awards honoring the top 1% of all McDonald’s managers.

Eventually her two open heart surgeries forced her to retire from McDonald’s after 31 years. She always fondly remembered her time working for the corporation and all the friends she made. Around this time she started being able to spend more and more time with her grandchildren. Austin and Daphne saw her the most, and she would do anything for them. They had a strong bond with Sue. Charlotte was starting to bond with her as well and she enjoyed every minute of it. Iziah and his smiling face always touched her heart. She will never meet Jackson but I know she would have loved him just as much.

Family and friends have always been important to her. She would always try to have her three brothers (Ernie, Andrew and Brad) and their families’ visit whenever she could. She loved them all dearly. She has some amazing friends who have stood by her throughout all of her trials, some from way back in grade school and some from the years in between but she always cherished the time she spent with them whether a girls’ lunch, phone call or anything else.

She was able to take many trips to lots of fun places in the world: Hawaii numerous times, Paris, the Netherlands many times (staying close to all of her relatives was important to her), California all the time, Florida, Texas, Niagara Falls, Wyoming, the Super Bowl, New York, Chicago, driving up the California coast to Canada and stopping by Yellowstone on the way back, Cruises to the Mexican Riviera, Alaska and the Caribbean. So many places she saw and so many more she wanted to see. I know she was trying to get as much out of life as she could.

Through everything that was thrown at her with breast cancer, heart valve replacements and strokes, she always pretended she was fine despite any pain she was feeling. Nothing ever fazed her; she would just defy the odds. She would be in the hospital and worry about someone’s birthday or things like that. It was never about her. Throughout the 27 years I knew her, she always seemed to go at life with a smile. That is what I will remember……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….