Sue Ellen Voris

Del Norte resident Sue Ellen Voris passed away September 5, 2019. She was born on June 13th, 1951 to Asa Wayne McWilliams and Ellen Ruth Douglas.

She loved going to auctions with her daddy. She collected everything he didn’t, so they always came home with loot." Her favorite collection by far were teddy bears. She had everyday teddy bears and each holiday had its own set of teddy bears. She loved to decorate for holidays and went all out for each one. She had towels, soap dispensers, wreaths, signs, and ceramics for every holiday. Most of her bears and her doll had special outfits for the holidays as well.

She was an avid reader. She enjoyed ceramics and sewing. She made her kids' Halloween costumes every year. Football season was a big deal in her life as she was an ever-present Bronco fan. When the Broncos lost a game, she would tell everyone she saw that they didn't cheer loud enough. She loved attending church and was a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church of Center and was involved in the church in various ways including American Baptist Women, Sunday School Director, Choir, Music Committee, Piano, and served anywhere there was a need. She attended Grand Mesa Baptist Camp yearly as a child and returned as an adult counselor when Laura attended. Her faith in Jesus Christ helped her through many trials and made the good times even better.

Sue loved her family with a passion and is what most people will remember about her. She was wholly devoted to her grandparents, her mom and daddy, then her children, and most recently her grandchildren.

She loved gardening, a trait she got from her dad. The two of them spent many hours planting and caring for a large garden and huge flower beds. Daddy never stopped growing a garden and it was the family joke that he grew enough to feed a large army, but being a widower he never could use much of his produce, so Sue spent a lot of time canning, freezing, and giving away the surplus bounty.

She worked for the Monte Vista Journal as a reporter for many years. She won quite a few awards for her articles and photographs and she wrote a column titled "Sue's Zoo," in which she told about the antics happening at home with her daddy, kids, cat Ben, and dog Popcorn.

Sue is survived by her children Laura (Joe) Henson of Monte Vista and Brent Palmgren of Del Norte; her Grandchildren Caleb, Logan, Charlie and Oliver Henson. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother and Sister-In-Law Steve (Carolyn) McWilliams.

The funeral service will be held at the First Baptist Church in Center, CO on Thursday, September 12th at 11:00 a.m.

Funeral arrangements in care of Strohmayer’s Funeral Home