Lois Sue Godbey

Lois “Sue” Carroll Godbey died on January 24, 2022 following a stroke, but only after living each of her 90 years to the fullest. The daughter of a coal miner, she was born in the hills of Eastern Kentucky in a less than cheerful setting. Her energy, strength and joy quickly brightened that and all her future homes. She helped raise her beloved sister and brother, Shirley Carroll Manly and Jack Carroll.

While still a child, Sue created a mobile book exchange for mountain children. She was a cheerleader and the valedictorian of her high school class. At 17, she entered Berea College on a full academic scholarship. That’s where she met fellow scholarship student Edsel Taylor Godbey. Sue’s father approved of their marriage but sat outside during the ceremony explaining that he loved her too much to ever give her away. Nevertheless, the marriage was a smashing success lasting 70 years and one month, cut “short” only by her death. The newlyweds completed their degrees at the University of Kentucky. Edsel eventually became a college President in Cumberland, Kentucky, and Sue taught first grade. Everyone wanted Mrs. Godbey as their teacher. Parents were caught gaming the system by withdrawing then reenrolling their children for a second chance to land in her class.

Of all the children she ever taught, none was luckier than her own, Dr. Patrick Edsel Taylor Godbey (Donna) and Judge Lisa Godbey Wood (Richard), both of St. Simons Island. If you ever met Sue, then you know all about her children. The pride she felt in them was surpassed only by the love she showed to them. She majored in spoiling her grandchildren, Dr. Elizabeth Godbey of Richmond, Virginia, and twins Katherine and Lachlan Wood of Athens, Georgia. Sue and Edsel left Kentucky for France then Dunwoody, Georgia and ultimately St. Simons Island. However, they never forgot their roots nor their obligation to pay their scholarships forward. In 2000, they funded creation of the Godbey Appalachian Center at Southeast Kentucky Community College, and in 2005 they endowed a scholarship to train teachers intent on teaching in Appalachian schools.

Sue was ahead of her time in many ways. She eschewed cooking, so the family ate out every night. Although she never pushed for promotions, her competence kept earning them. She wound up in charge of all elementary science instruction for DeKalb County schools. The one secret she modestly kept was that in a family full of academic stars, hers actually outshone them all.

She loved to travel, visiting all seven continents and playing golf on six. She was President of the Dunwoody Woman’s Club and an enthusiastic member of the St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church wedding guild. She was the kind of person who was apt to break out in song at any minute or tap out a tune on the car horn just to let out a burst of joy. She wasn’t flawless. She could hold a grudge, talk too loudly in movies and pressure you into eating dessert. Well, even her flaws had charm.

If some part of life’s purpose is to use all your talents, love all your family, pamper all your friends, and spread all your joy, then we know she was greeted in Heaven with “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A memorial service is planned at the family’s Bethelridge, Kentucky graveyard when the hillsides warm. Those wishing to send remembrances are invited to make a contribution to the “Sue Godbey Scholarship Fund” c/o Southeast Education Foundation, 700 College Road, Cumberland, Kentucky 40823.