Nellie "Susie Q" W. Campbell

A little lady with a happy spirit, that’s Susie Campbell. She will forever be known to people as “The Salt and Pepper Shaker Lady”. Collecting salt and pepper shakers was her hobby and passion through her adult life. She touched may people’s lives as she went from place to place in her quest.

Know to her friends and acquaintances now as Susie Campbell; she was born as Nellie Wynne Griffith. Nellie “Susie” was born on august 10, 1920 in Lombard, Illinois to Hazel and William Griffith. In 1963 her mother remarried and her step dad was Robert Ashton.

She lived in Illinois till she was 10 years old. As a girl she attended Catholic school. In 1930 her family moved to Denver. She was able to attend Emily Griffith Opportunity School from 1937-38 and completed the course in Indexing and Filing.

She soon met her husband Booker “Wayne“ Mack Campbell. It was Booker who nicknamed her “Susie Q”, and it stuck. Booker was in the Army when Susie met him. They were married on December 6, 1941. She always remembered it well because it was the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. While married and moving around to various places with the Army, Susie was a homemaker. Booker and Susie had no children although they wanted them. Susie did a few jobs like sewing quilts to sell and babysitting.

Susie enjoyed many activities like: sewing, reading and collecting salt and pepper shakers. She loved to read westerns and mysteries. She took pride in sewing tea towels, hot pads, and quilts. It was her salt and pepper shaker collection that got the most attention. She started it in 1943, during World War II, when Booker was in the Army. He collected ashtrays and she bought salt and pepper shakers in every city and Nat’l Park they went to. Her first pair of candlestick shaped salt and pepper shakers cost 15 cents. Her collection kept growing. She always knew how many salt and pepper sets she had; to date she has 7,580. For her birthday she’d get sets from friends. She loved to tell stories of what was going on when she bought them. She could remember each salt and pepper set and who had given them to her. She even recently went to The Armadillo to buy eleven more sets. Her home is filled with shelves, built by her friend John, displaying most of them; her basement is filled too. She is a member of the National Salt and Pepper Novelty Shakers Club. Susie will always be known in Arvada and beyond as “The Salt and Pepper Shaker Lady”.

Arvada has been Susie’s home for quite awhile. She loved to walk and often would visit the antique shops in Old Town Arvada and local garage sales to find her salt and pepper shakers. She even worked at Yvonne’s antique shop in Old Town Arvada. You might have seen her in Good Berry’s at McDonald’s having a cup of coffee with her friends. Since she never learned to drive she acquired some special friends like JoAnn and Ellouise who helped her get around. Susie Campbell’s happy attitude and love of life was a joy to all whose lives she touched.

"The Salt & Pepper Shaker Lady", 92, passed away on January 26, 2013 in Arvada, Colorado. She is survived by her sister in law Nellie Griffith, a very dear friend, Ellouise Pruett, also one niece and one nephew. She was preceded in death by her husband, Booker Mack Campbell, and one brother William "Bill" Griffith.

Visitation will be held at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary on Thursday, January 31, 2013 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.

Graveside service on Friday, February 1, 2013, 10:30am at Arvada Cemetery, 5581 Independence St., Arvada, CO 80002.