Sudie Easley

July 30, 1927 - June 9, 2019

Sudie Ann Easley was born on July 30, 1927 in Evansville, Indiana to the late Charles & Beaulah (nee Graham) Edwards. She was the 14th of 20 children. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Evansville. From a relationship with George Kelly she had her first born, Shaaron Pillar Edwards. On September 23, 1946 she married Joe Melvin Chester (deceased) and from this union was born Robert (deceased), Cheryl Anne, Tanya Jeanne (Lonia), Joe Melvin Jr., and Maria Lynette. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio in the late ‘40s. She divorced Joe around 1963 and was later remarried to David Easley (deceased) in 1969. Holidays were important to her, and she left her children with many memories of a decorated house, hand-made paper chains, ice cream made of snow, Baked Alaska cake, and numerous other sweet treats. She and Joe loved to fish and hunt, and holiday dinners contained pheasant, rabbit, quail and squirrel. Her children loved to see who found the most buckshots during dinners. For a few years, she and Joe lived on a farm near Cleveland. She grew many different vegetables in her garden, and raised and slaughtered pigs. She was just a “little thing” to others, but to her children she was an admired “toughie”. She put herself through nursing school at Jane Adams in Cleveland and became an LPN and worked at many hospitals in Cleveland. She also attended Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland. Her hobbies consisted of fishing, playing bingo at church, bowling and crocheting. She was a very talented seamstress and often sewed dresses for her girls. Her most passionate hobbies were reading, working crossword puzzles, and, watching football on TV, pros, college, even high school if that was all that was showing. Even though she moved to California in 1981, she remained a Cleveland sports fan, and enjoyed watching the Cleveland Indians, Cavaliers and most of all the Browns. Sudie was a devout Catholic and enjoyed saying the rosary and making many novenas dedicated to her family and friends. She raised her children in the Catholic Church. She had one bad habit, that she told her priest she was just unable to give up, and that was cursing. She had one favorite word (or, maybe a couple) that came out often. In California, she became a “second momma” to many children – Michael and Andrew were two that she considered her own. She was a faithful volunteer worker at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange, California for many years, and only stopped for health reasons. For the last two years of her life, she spent her mornings and early afternoons at Santa Ana Adult Day Care. She became one of their favorite participants. She leaves many cherished memories to her 5 children; her brother, Herbert (Rhoda Bert) and sister, Vera Helen, who both reside in Evansville, Indiana; 10 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 5 great-great grandchildren; countless nieces and nephews; and a host of other family members and friends. Special thanks to Santa Ana Adult Day Care, Sonoran Winds, Ikenna, Susan, Dora, Theresa, Charity, Martha and Chaplain Roger