Sue Merell Obituary

Sue Merell passed unexpectedly due to health complications Sat Feb 27, 2010. She had just celebrated her 76th birthday on Feb 10. Sue was married to Walker "Red" Merell for 48 years up until his death at the age of 75 in 2006. She is survived by her two sons, Michael and Patrick, and their wives Dunya and Megan. She is also survived by her niece Kim on her deceased brother Patrick's side, and her nephew David on her deceased sister Kit's side. She was fortunate to have seen the early growth of three grandchildren, Vuk, the son of Michael and Dunya's marriage, and 'the twins', Finnegan and Grace, from the union of Pat and Megan.

Born Sue Lourie McCabe, Feb 10 1934, in Berkeley, Ca., she was the youngest of the three children to John and Charlotte McCabe. Sue never got to know her father, however she was very close to her mother and thought the world of her. When her mother fell ill Sue made it a point to be with her and provide for her needs, a character trait that defined her loving and nurturing nature and one she would later repeat in her life.

Sue lived in the San Francisco Bay Area her entire life. She attended UC Berkeley and graduated with a BA in French Language. It is at Berkeley where she met her future husband Red, a disabled Korean War Veteran. Sue and Red were married in 1958 in Carmel, Ca and shortly after moved to Orinda, Ca in 1962. They both loved the Casa Orinda restaurant and were regulars for over 50 years.

Sue and Walker, unable to conceive children, adopted both Mike and Pat, and gave them unconditional love and support their entire life. That love and support was also extended to their family and friends and to the childhood friends of Mike and Pat. Several times their living room became a makeshift safe haven during turbulent times. During their childhood, Mike and Pat’s friends were always ‘at the Merell's’. Their house was always open and people were free to express their opinion, seek advice, get fed, or as it was most of the time, to just have fun. It was because of this that Sue and Red were never short of wedding invitations from Mike and Pat’s friends. Sue cherished these times and in her later years always welcomed everyone back during the holidays or for drop in visits.

Sue enjoyed arts and crafts and spent time with her sons growing up constructing such things as Xmas ornaments. She dabbled with painting and loved going to the museums. Never afraid of hard work she tiled her entire house, reupholstered her chairs, and resurfaced her kitchen cabinets. She was an excellent cook and did everything without a recipe. She loved doing the crosswords and was an avid reader, mostly mysteries. She played the piano and appreciated many different types of music including Big Band and Jazz. New Orleans was one of her favorite destinations, but Paris ranked first for her. She traveled there numerous times. She loved the language, the culture, and the culinary delights, but probably loved the Impressionist paintings the most.

In her last years she helped her husband fight cancer, and even fought off her own bout with the disease. She loved her grandchildren and relished the visits and the phone calls from them. She loved nothing more then holding them in her lap and sharing laughs and smiles with them.

Sue Merell was a smart and beautiful person who was non-judgmental and lived by the mandate to treat others as you would want to be treated. She will be forever missed by those who knew and loved her.

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In lieu of a memorial service Sue and Red's ashes will be spread together at their desired location in the summer. We will send an announcement later.

In the meantime please feel free to share your memories of Sue through the comments section below