Susan Deborah Sellers

Many people know Susan as one of the few remaining “native Seattleites.” What many people don’t know is that Susan was actually born in California, at Port Hueneme naval base in Ventura, CA. She spent her formative years there from Sept. 6, 1959 to November 1960.

To really know and appreciate Susan we must start at the end. Susan had a passion, a determination and a resilience to live life for as long as possible. As her doctor said, she was fierce, tenacious and had a will for life unlike few she had known in her years in caring for patients.

This was how Susan lived her entire life. She grew up in a difficult situation where she had to rely on this courage and resilience to get through each day. It was important to her to get a great education and she worked hard to get into Holy Names Academy. It was here that she developed a sense of compassion and understanding for those less fortunate than her, even though nowadays she would be perceived as one of those “less fortunate” individuals. With the help of the Catholic Church and through her own hard work at different jobs, she was able to put herself through school and graduate.

College was not an option for her financially, knowing this was the reality of her life she charged right into many years of working diligently to achieve her goals. One of her proudest moments was when she was the first non-college graduate to be hired as a territory representative by a prestigious carpet firm. She did this until she was blessed to have her first child, Shelby, after which she decided the time had come for her to be the loving and nurturing mother she had always desired to become. She and her husband Mike welcomed their second daughter Molly into the world in 1994.

Susan was a dedicated and caring mother who also felt a civic obligation to leave the world a better place for not only her children but for everyone. After moving to North Bend, WA in 1993, she volunteered her time at schools from pre-school all the way through high school. She was proud to have been involved in the “Safe Kids” task force and the “Save Meadowbrook Farm” efforts to name but a few of the causes that were important to her.

Never one to rest and with her relentless desire to give her children some of the opportunities she never had to explore, she returned to work when the girls were close to or entering college. She was fortunate enough to work for two different companies during her latter years where her bosses became lifelong friends.

Susan would not want us to remember her as a victim of cancer but as a warrior who battled as long as she could, lived life to the fullest while being fatigued and in pain, and retired her amazing life on her own terms – all while being a model of dignity, courage and humility – seldom complaining nor feeling sorry for herself.

Her children Shelby Rae and Molly Margaret Sellers, her husband Mike, her mother Alyce Alexander, sister Catherine Ghavamian and brother Steve Greiner survive Susan in life. Other family members include Scott Greiner, Jeff Greiner, Mike Samek and Joyce Samek.