Ella Sue Wilson Heaberlin – Wise County Messenger

Ella Sue Wilson Heaberlin died peacefully on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, surrounded by loving family members and buoyed by the love and support of family across the country.

Born in Louisa, Ky., in 1930, Sue lived in several locations in Illinois and Texas with her husband, Chuck, before settling in Decatur for the last 50 years of her life. A creative and committed stay-at-home mom and homemaker, she was a gifted baker, gardener, decorator, seamstress and knitter, a devoted wife, a nurturing mother and foster mother and an empathetic listener. She had an abiding curiosity and interest in the world and was active in her community in many roles, including as a founding member and first president of the League of Women Voters in Garland, co-chair of the original Friends of Decatur Public Library, board member of the Wise County Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and longtime member of the Wise County Historical Society.

At various times in her life, she served as a school board member, a band booster, an elementary school tutor and a piano teacher, a service she provided freely to children in the neighborhood. She was active in the church throughout her life, serving over the years as a Sunday school teacher, a counselor for Methodist Youth Fellowship, a member of the Council on Ministries and as secretary and church historian for the First United Methodist Church in Decatur. She was also an emissary of the church’s love in less formal ways, providing food for the bereaved and visitation for those confined to home or nursing care. Her strong religious convictions led her to support political organizations such as Common Cause and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty.

She was blessed with a long and happy life and enjoyed the blessing and curse of having more interests than any one person could possibly do justice to in a single lifetime. She often said she was never happier than when her hands were in the dirt of her garden. She loved nature and never met a spider or snake that she didn’t like. Her recipe collection spilled over, and often everything on her dinner table was made from scratch. She was a practitioner of yoga and a baker of her own whole-grain bread 50 years before it was cool.

She collected a diverse and wonderful group of friends. She loved to learn, thought science was fascinating and liked to question assumptions and discuss interesting ideas. Through her many interests and passions, she gave her children a wide view of the world from a small town. And that world is a poorer place without her intellect, kindness, empathy and support of those less fortunate.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Garland Elliot Wilson and Ivry Regaina Bussey Vaughan; and by a sister, Judith Vaughan Stapf.

She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Chuck; son Doug Heaberlin and daughter-in-law Martha, of Underhill, Vt.; daughter Julia Heaberlin and son-in-law Steve Kaskovich of Grapevine; grandchildren Katie Heaberlin and her wife, Michele Cashman, of Essex, Vt., Laura Heaberlin of Grand Isle, Vt., Sam Kaskovich of Chicago, Ill., Jessica Lomas of Hackettstown, N.J., and Sarah Lomas of Northfield, Vt.; her amazing great-granddaughter, Anya; her sister, Mary Michael Haney and brother-in-law Michael Haney, of Ironton, Ohio; her beloved first cousin Marcella Browning and husband, Lloyd, of Louisa, Ky.; and many wonderful cousins, nieces and nephews who brought joy to her life.

A devout Christian, she was also an amateur poet and composed this Psalm:

“The Lord blesses those who work, and He blesses even more those who do difficult work.

He sends satisfaction and contentment into the lives of those who do His will.

Those who strive to obey His guidance and instruction are blessed with ultimate joy.

Sometimes when we think that God has forgotten us, we toil and struggle, and it seems no good is there. Then, as the rainbow comes after a storm, joy and peace fill our lives.

As the storm waters the ground and makes life on earth new and fresh, God’s grace appears and enlightens our world.

We are immersed in glowing color. And our hearts burst with the fullness of life!”

A private family service is pending. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to your favorite charity.