Carolyn Sue Holmes was born March 30th of 1947 to Guy and Pauline Cooper.  The youngest of 7 siblings at the time, "Sue" remained the baby of the family for 5 years until the last Cooper sister, Martha, would bump her out of "her spot,"  where she never let her forget it!  She went to meet her Savior on the morning of September 12th with her sister, Phyllis, by her side.

Sue grew up on the family farm in the northwest area of rural Wagoner.  Some of her fondest memories were there and her time as a student at the little country school, Star School.  Sue made several lifelong friends there.  She was so sad to see the final remains of the last wall of Star School removed many years ago.

Although Sue longed to remain at Star School for the rest of her school days, she and the rest of the class of '65 had to move to the "big city school" in Wagoner proper, Wagoner High School.  Sue would go on to graduate from WHS and attend Bacone College in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where she lived on campus and at times, with her oldest sister, Naida.  It was during her years at Bacone where Sue met the love of her life, Lowell Thomas Holmes.

"Tommy," as he was called at Bacone, was initially regarded as a "foreigner" by the Coopers, but that didn't stop Sue from falling in love with him.  And to make matters worse, Sue and Tom further alienated the family by running off and getting married....literally.  With only a justice of the peace and a couple of witnesses, Sue and Tom were officially wed on August 1st, 1969.  They started their lives together in a small eastern Missouri town named Louisiana, Missouri.  There, they would have 3 sons; Glen, Joe, and Jeremy until moving back home in 1977 and having their one and only girl, Kellie, on the 1st day of the new year in 1978.  All was "forgiven" by the Coopers as they soon knew that Sue and Tom weren't running off anymore.  Sue's sisters and even the brothers took to Tom even while Sue may have been mad at them for various reasons.  Sue would continue her teaching career in Wagoner that she began in Missouri, and would officially retire from Wagoner Middle School in 2006.  Early on while teaching, she received her Master's Degree in Reading from Northeastern State University and would return to Wagoner Public Schools after retirement for a couple of years as a reading specialist.  Since that time, Sue continued to enjoy spending time with Wagoner youth at Eternity Fraternity, her great nieces and nephews, and of course, her grand babies, all the way until the time of her passing.

Sue was preceded in death by her husband, Tom; her parents, Guy and Pauline; siblings Guy Jr. (Judge), Gary (Buddy), and Naida.  She is survived by her son Glen with wife DeAnn and kids Addie, Lowell, Wiley, and Lyda of Mobile, Alabama;  son Joe and wife Penni with kids Layne, Logan, and Lindsey of Claremore; son Jeremy with wife Corrina and 2 daughters Emma and Anna of Wagoner; and 1 daughter Kellie with husband Jeremy and 3 sons Cody with fiancé Kirsten, Noah, and Luke of Coweta.  1 great granddaughter, Carlie.

Sue also has 2 brothers, 2 sisters and a sister-in-law remaining;  Bob and wife Jane;  Frank (Cotton) and wife Patty; sisters Phyllis and Martie; and sister-in-law, Hazel Sue.  These 7 siblings and their wives provided Sue with an awesome number of nieces and nephews that she loved as her own.  Also a special recognition to her family in Virginia through Tom that still kept in touch after all of these years since his death.  The family would also like to thank the Emerald Hospice Team for providing excellent care for Sue that enabled her to enjoy her life for an additional 3 1/2 years after her heart attack.

Viewing will be at Mallett Funeral Home on Friday, September 17th from 6 to 8 p.m.  A "Life Celebration" will happen at Eternity Fraternity, 105 Cohn Street, on Saturday, September 18th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.  It is a "drop in" for anyone who would like to come.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like to request any contributions to be given to Eternity Fraternity Ministries (make checks out to Eternity Fraternity Properties, PO Box 531, Wagoner, OK 74477; Memo: In Memory of Sue Holmes) where Sue served many years as a board member and worker.  A future Eternity Fraternity facility to house needy families will be named "Mrs. Sue's House" in her honor.