Margaret Sue Mitchell's Obituary
Margaret Sue Royer Mitchell
August 23, 1942 - February 22, 2024
If you knew Sue Mitchell, you knew her stunning smile, her sense of style, her open heart, her
coy-often flirty-wit, and her boundless sense of fun that lit up any room, occasion, or theater with
her beautiful presence and spirited energy. Sue had a flair for fashion, a finesse for decor, and a
cunning collector’s sense of value—She had an eye for it!
Sue knew how to shop and often finagled family, friends, and acquaintances into joining her in
her treasure hunting escapades. What looked like it belonged in the junk pile to some, she knew
was a diamond in the rough just awaiting her touch to make it shine and make a little profit. She
was the master at persuasion and a smart negotiator which she used to her full potential when
she and her friends had Tuesday’s Treasures in Moline or the Hippy Chalet with her son in Elk
Falls. She was especially proud of her ability to make a deal mostly because she had just found
the perfect thing, she knew either she or you had to have.
Margaret Sue was born August 23, 1942, in Wichita, Kansas, to Margaret Amelia (Atwell) and
Robert Kingsley Royer. Her parents and her Gammy were the center of her world until her baby
brother John Robert (Bobby) was born five years later. Her connection to Bobby was immediate.
Their deep care for each other and daily phone calls were their constant bond.
Sue attended Clark Elementary, Curtis Middle School, and Southeast High School. She often
joked that she only went to school and Sunday school for the snacks and crafts. Her love of
crafts helped form her career as her first paying job was for the Wichita Park Board teaching
children crafts. At her retirement, she was a professional para at the Moline Grade School
where was known for brilliantly crafted bulletin boards. During her time as a paraprofessional,
Sue also received an associate's degree. She excelled at these jobs because she loved and
adored the students and put their needs first.
At Curtis, she met her lifelong friend posse: Connie, Judy, Sharon, Paula, Margo, Julie, Karen
and Marilyn. Who knew back then that they would be there for each other for 69 years—through
the joys and sorrows, ironing and dishes, loves and losses, and some even following to the
same small town. They formed a sisterhood of mutual love and care for each other. Sue joked
that their friendship had lasted so long because after that many years, they knew enough about
each other for blackmail.
If you knew Sue, you knew she had a deep love for her children and was a special Gammy Sue
to her grandchildren. She was their constant force of love. She was there for the clever birthday
parties, the graduations, the bologna or peanut butter/sugar sandwich school lunches, the
school outings, and especially the school projects. She was known for her fat free everything,
her after appointment visits to KFC, her love of ice cream, and her strawberry fluff.
Gammy’s home (petit château, Margaret’s mansion) was an especially precious place for her
and her family. Gammy enjoyed and dearly loved her home so much and she made it perfectly
reflect her inner beautiful and creative soul. Her collections of keepsakes from her mother, her
Gammy Atwell, and thrift store adventures were displayed elegantly throughout the rooms. She
shared her home with everyone. Her home was a shelter for her many beloved pets and her
home was the destination for family holidays, celebrations, and get togethers complete with
enormous pallets for sleepovers and late night TV and snack bingeing.
Gammy Sue was always up for any escapades whether it was trying roller blading after 60,
flirting in Vegas, trapping her grandkids in her knees (called a Sue-plex hold), Crazy Days turtle
races, parades, and rodeos, manning the Elk Falls Museum, volunteering at the Joseph’s
Storehouse in Burden, or traveling to Sante Fe, Florida, Colorado, France, and Italy. She
enthusiastically joined in on all the adventures when she went to visit the Mitchell-Werp family in
Europe from sunbathing on the French River and eating frog legs to hiking through the Tuscan
hills seeking medieval villas and dining on black truffle dishes.
Known as Switchboard Sue by her family, her social media prowess was anything but obsolete.
She had a ritual where she sat at her table surrounded by two iPads, cell phone, and a dial
phone so she could phone, share, post, and message at will. Usually with a fashion or home
improvement program to help keep her up to date on the latest news and trends or to track how
far ahead she was on the latest trends. She epitomized the essence of a chic cowgirl long
before it graced the trendy streets of LA. She was a social media maven to her family, her
friends, her family’s friends and her friend’s friends, really everyone, and we mean everyone.
We will miss her shopping excursions, her commodity runs, the anticipation of her next thrift
store finds or DIY project. We will miss her care packages of food and gifts. Whenever anyone
mentioned something they might need, she would go on a big search so she could get it for you.
We will also miss her cards. A greeting card from Sue wasn’t just a card, it was something she
customized for you especially. Her message was sent straight from her heart. Every impactful
word was underlined and the entire card message was surrounded by a hand-drawn heart
and/or little hearts that were weighted with 100% sincerity.
Gammy wanted the best the world had to offer for her children and grandchildren. She
encouraged and supported them to pursue their goals. If they were doubtful, she always told
them that they could do it and to have positive thoughts. When Blair questioned graduating early
and moving to France, when Myles was considering whether his University in Ohio was right for
him, when Hayden wanted to study at FIT or Monica to earn her degrees, and so many more
examples, she cheered us all on to take that jump. She wanted us to push ourselves to forever
learn and grow into the people we are today, unapologetically!
Gammy kept a quote attached to her bathroom mirror from a note Brooke sent her that says:
“Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and a little
flower.”
If you knew Sue, you felt the radiance of her shine, the exuberance of her generosity, and her
gracious warm welcome into her abundant circle of love. She was a precious flower. She was
our precious flower. She genuinely loved hard and with all her heart yearned to love even more.
When Sue’s sickness struck, she waited until each of her children and grandchildren were able
to visit, then left as beautifully as she had lived.
She was the most incredible, supportive, and loving mother with the beauty of the Gods and
glowing spirit of the angels. Her monumental inner strength and tenderhearted compassion was
our porte-bonheur de la vie! Thank you Gammy for your positive empowerment to be happy and
achieve our goals—to reach the stars! We are forever grateful she was our mother,
grandmother, sister, and friend. She was and remains a TIMELESS ICON forever in our hearts!
XOXOXO!!
Margaret (Gammy) Sue Royer Mitchell died February 22, 2024. She was preceded in death by
her gammy, father, and mother. She is survived by her brother, Bobby of Clearwater, FL;
Children: Mitchell of Elk Falls, Monica (Paul Werp) of Milan, Italy, Greg and Mandi (Curt Rierson)
of Wichita; her grandchildren William (Golda) of Goldendale, WA, Hayden of Milan, Italy, Myles
of Wichita, Blair (Louis Guerlet) of Malmo, Sweden and Paris, France, Brooke of Washington
DC, Wren of Wichita; her fur babies, Poppy and Chester of Moline; as well as many cousins,
nieces, nephews, her chosen sisters, adopted daughters, and countless friends.
In lieu of flowers, make a donation in Sue’s name to the Chautauqua County Animal Shelter in
Sedan, KS or a food bank of your choice. The family celebrated Sue’s life while they were
together. Let the celebration continue by sharing your memories of Sue with us here:
https://www.facebook.com/sue.mitchell.186590
Cremation has been requested at this time. Services are entrusted to Countryside Funeral Home and Memorials may be mailed in or left with the Funeral Home. 206 E. Washington P.O Box 1233, Howard, KS 67349
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