This memorial page was created for our loved one, Sue, a/k/a Tsayonah, who was born in Nebraska on April 07, 1948 and passed away in Iowa on the morning of January 25, 2006 at the age of 57. We will remember her forever.

Sue, of Cherokee heritage, was given the indian name "Tsayonah" many years ago, and remained active in the Kituwah Southeastern Nation of the Cherokee. She was a Ghigau (tribal elder or Beloved Woman) in the Saint Francis River band of Cherokee in southeastern Missouri. Her husband, Jim, who's indian name is SoquiliWodi, is still active in the Kituwah band of Cherokee.

Sue loved animals and was a rescuer of abandoned or displaced companion animals, in addition to being a professional groomer. Her home was filled with many of the "critters" she saved or adopted, including a multiplicity of Labrador Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels, an African Gray Parot, indoor and barn cats too numerous to count, a flock of chickens, and several horses. I know those critters she left behind will miss her companionship as much as will her many human companions; those friends, colleagues, and relatives who knew and loved her well.

Speaking of friends, Sue has lots of them and a knack that I (her sister and only sibling) could never quite master the way she did. It was her ability to form very close relationships with others, and she was extremely close with many, many different people on many, many different levels.

I never understood this talent of hers, but I have always considered it to be very special. I am the introvert, while Sue has always been the extrovert when it came to building and maintaining relationships with others. She was a master at it. She brought me and my husband, Paul, together back in 1980, and we have been together ever since -- bonded in marriage for 24 years now. We have her to thank for that. Sue and her husband Jim shared 33 wonder-filled years together in good times and bad, through lots of trials and much joy but with a singular mission to care for all of their four-footed and winged companions in the tradition of the patron saint of animals, Saint Francis of Assisi.

Sue "Tsayonah" Ann Hawes