Susan Todd

“Memories are precious, they don’t go away. We think of you always and not just today”

Susan passed away at home on 17th December 2021 aged 69 years.

The beloved Wife of Colin. Much loved Mum to Michelle & Claire. Also a cherished Sister, Nana & Great Nana who will be so sadly missed and fondly remembered.

Her funeral took place on Friday 31st December at 11.30am at Crewe Crematorium Chapel.

For further information and to offer your condolences, please  telephone our Funeral Home on 01270 584447

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Sue was lost to family and friends at the premature age of 69. She passed away peacefully at home surrounding by her family – from which we can take comfort – after her brave battle with cancer.

It is also a comfort that Sue is at peace now. No more pain or suffering. No more having to be brave. No more fretting for family, or family fretting for her.

We are human beings made for love and relationships, and when we lose someone we love we don’t half feel it in our hearts. That grief is the flip side of the love.

Our thoughts must be with those closest to Sue:

Colin, her faithful loving husband, who only had eyes for her, and whom she married aged 18 in 1970, and didn’t mind too much if  Sue gave him a few directions. He has been there for Sue. He has faithfully loved her “in sickness and in health” in these recent years.

Michelle and Claire, her loving daughters, who will be recalling all their earlier memories of a loving, caring mum. In their own ways they carry forward Sue’s life. She lives on in them.

Her loving 2 grandsons Lee (who gave a moving personal tribute) and Aaron, and 2 great granddaughters Esmai and Grace.

We remember Sue’s sisters Jacqueline and Darice.

Born in Crewe in 1952 and  brought up here, Sue was content to make this town her home for life.  Here she put down her roots, here she married, here she raised her children, here she made her friends – often through her work. She was content with life in this place.

Family life  meant so much to Sue. Husband, children and grandchildren, great-grandchildren. She learned to love family through her own experience of childhood and family, and she passed that on to her family, and they in turn cascade family love to future generations.

One aspect of family which appealed to Sue was to research her own family history.

This connects to something else about Sue: she was generally interested in history and the world about her. A great reader. Detective type books – yes. But lots else besides. She had a fascination with historical buildings – not least churches, and would seek these out on her travels.

There are lots of great family things to remember and celebrate. Some things are quite simple. Pub meals for example or spending time together as family wherever that might be. There were the family get-togethers, family days out. Daughters Michelle and Claire remember picnics in the local countryside. Then there were day trips to pretty or interesting places – Llandudno or Chester or Port Meirion, for example.

There were also great holidays – Majorca, Greece, Lanzerote, Scotland, Vegas. Vegas 2010 by the way was a holiday with a difference. The family were there for Claire’s wedding – I would think a rather special occasion. And the holiday was extended by about a week because of the huge ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano which disrupted air travel around the world.

Let’s say a word about Sue’s working life. This was varied – office work, warehouse work, domestic work, shop work – each place creating new friends, as noted before, some of whom I think are here today.

In her work Sue drew on her people skills. She got on with colleagues and she could handle customers. She was a caring empathetic sort of person, a good listener, always ready to lend a sympathetic listening ear to her two daughters, and to others.

There is the creative side in Sue’s life – you can see that in various ways. In the clothes she made for her children. Her craft skills: knitting and sewing, making lampshades to her own design. The way she made her house and garden look attractive. The way she turned herself out attractively. The way she loved to dance, even pleasing Colin by doing his favourite dance with him – The Twist. Her cooking skills – apparently she knew how to make meals from scratch rather than depend on ready-made products. And her food was sought after, and generously and plentifully provided for visitors.

Sue had an eye for quality. If she was out shopping she wouldn’t buy something simply because it was cheap or in a sale. She bought something because it appealed to her sense of what looked good, what was attractive.

And we mustn’t forget Sue’s love of musicals and shows. She had music in her soul. She took great pleasure in music – Abba, for example, and more up to date groups. The service today reflects Sue’s love of music.

In all these ways Sue demonstrated her creative aesthetic sense. She was tuned into a realm of values, a world which goes beyond superficialities and measurement simply by price or popular appeal. A world which reminds us that there is a spiritual dimension to life which Sue had grasped.

Sue enjoyed beautiful and creative things, but that did not make her a big spender. She knew about working hard for what you have. The throw-away, credit card society was not her way. The importance of sound housekeeping, the motto ‘waste not want not’, may seem quaint to some members of today’s society. Yet her standards and values are run-away winners when we really think about things, as we try to be good stewards of the environment, to live within our means.

We noted before that Sue was very content with her life here. Remember contentment is a great human virtue. It is the perfect antidote to depression and anxiety.

Here is a summary of Sue’s qualities to admire and learn from – and you can probably see some of these in her children and grandchildren. There was love in her heart. There is the family and home loving side. There is the people side. There is the creative side. There was contentment.

Her lovely and loving qualities will stay with you into the future. There were some super phrases in the sympathy cards the family have received. Phrases like: “lovely, kind and gentle” and “a truly amazing lady”.

In God’s love all these qualities find their fulfilment and perfection, and in God’s love those of you who love her will see her again. A million love songs tell you that love has an eternal dimension. We hold on to that.

So we salute  a small lady in stature, only 4’10”, but feisty, of huge principle, and with a massive loving heart of gold.

The family wish to thank Lucy and other district nurses from the Millcroft surgery and to thank the staff at Salford Royal.

May she rest in peace.