Sue Cunningham Psencik

Bettye “Sue” Cunningham Psencik, daughter of the late Leonard and Virginia Cunningham, passed away on March 3, 2025. Sue was born September 6,1939, in Hillsboro, Texas, where she attended elementary and high school. She continued her education at the nearby Navarro Junior College, and eventually, she studied at the University of Wisconsin.

Sue had a long career. In 1958, at the age of 19, she started her first job at the Texas Department of Public Welfare in Austin, Texas, and four years later, she began working at Page Southerland Page (PSP), an architectural and engineering firm. Over the next 15 years, she moved to Wisconsin, Kentucky, and West Virginia while raising her two daughters, Susan and Elizabeth Ball. In 1978, the family returned to their roots in Austin, Texas, and Sue returned to PSP. Ultimately, Sue became the office manager of The University of Texas at Austin’s Development Office, a job she enjoyed until her retirement.

Sue married William “Bill” Psencik in 1983. Their thirty-two years of marriage were filled with adventure. Together, they enjoyed country and western dancing, skiing, traveling, and volunteering. Bill and Sue’s biggest adventure was their decision to buy land in Stonewall, Texas, and plant an orchard with 700 peach trees and an uncountable number of blackberry bushes. Known as the Psencik Peach Farm, it became a thriving pick-your-own-peach business that was beloved by Central Texas families and was even featured in Southern Living Magazine.

Sue and Bill’s farm was much more than a business or a retirement project. Loving the thrill of an afternoon browsing in small town junk shops, Sue spent many hours collecting antiques to furnish the farmhouse. Sue also enjoyed oil painting, quilting, and gardening. The farmhouse was filled with her art and treasures she found. On hot summer afternoons, Sue and Bill were often on their patio, serving family and friends their fresh homemade peach cobbler or ice cream, vegetables from their garden, and meat prepared in Bill’s hand-built smoker. Although none of their children grew up there, over the years, the farmhouse became a home the whole family cherished.

In their retirement years, Sue and Bill were an integral part of the Stonewall community. They attended Francis Xavier Catholic Church, and Sue volunteered at St. Vincent’s Thrift Shop. After the death of her daughter, Susan, in 2004, Sue found her calling as a Stephen Minister at the United Methodist Church in nearby Fredericksburg, providing one-on-one emotional support to others in the grief process. Sue offered a listening ear, an open heart, and deep compassion for those who - like her - had lost people they loved and missed dearly.

Sue was generous with her love and devotion as a wife, mother, and grandmother. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Bill; her oldest daughter, Susan Longley; her brother, Leslie Cunningham; and her stepdaughter, Carrie Sutphen. Her legacy will live on with those who remain: her daughter Elizabeth Whitehead; son-in-law Matt Whitehead; granddaughters Abby Heinen (Dallas) and Remi Whitehead; her grandson Craig Longley (Jennifer) and his son Conner; grandson Brian Longley (Megan) and their three daughters: Aubrey, Madilyn and Caroline. She is also survived by her extended family whom she loved dearly: Linda and John Steele, Bill and Debbie Psencik, Nancy Psencik, Sally and Gary McNeil, and Richard Psencik, as well as a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Sue’s family wants to especially thank the exceptional staff at Arden Courts of Austin, who expertly and kindly cared for Sue in these last years of her life.

In late March, the family will honor Sue with graveside services as she is laid to rest at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in Kovar, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Kovar, to continue the Psencik family support for this small town parish. You’ll notice the donation link is for St. Paul’s Catholic Church, the mother parish for Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church. To ensure your donation is directed to Sts. Peter and Paul, please put in the Comments Section: “Sue Psencik - for Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Kovar.” You can also mail donations to: St. Paul Catholic Church, 204 Mills Street, Smithville, TX 78957.