Jill's Journal: Rest in peace, Sue McMartin

I first met Sue McMartin in the mid-2000s. It was for a story on her retirement as a server at Red Lobster in neighboring Sioux Falls.

Now to be honest, retirements from Red Lobster typically aren’t headline-making moments for the weekly newspaper in Brandon, but Sue was wrapping up a 22-year career as a server for the popular seafood restaurant at age 72. And she’d lived in the same house in Brandon for 46 years at the time, so that was more than enough local connections to constitute a story.

After our brief – but very informative first meeting – Sue was one of those people I considered a friend for life.

And she was. 

Most Sundays, she would sit two or three pews ahead of me in church. When it came time for greetings, Sue and I often exchanged handshakes. If I saw her at an event, you can bet she would make a point to say “hello” before it was over.

And she did.

Last week, at the age of 91, Sue died unexpectedly. I was sad when a friend told me the news. I also learned through that conversation that she did not want a funeral.

That sounds just like her.

She never wanted to be the center of attention. She never made attempts to impress. Sue was just Sue, a woman who’d greet you with a smile on her face and a skip in her step.

“I take each day as it comes. I don’t worry about tomorrow,” Sue was quoted in a May 2024 Active Generations article.

She met the love of her life, Cliff McMartin, in a round-a-about way. Sue loved to dance, and it was a dance at the Arkota Ballroom where she was “introduced” to Cliff. While at the Arkota, she met a family who showed her a picture of their son – Cliff – who was serving in the Korean War. Sue loved to write letters, so she asked to be his pen pal. As the story goes, the two sent letters back and forth, and when Cliff was discharged, he marched right home and was ready to put a ring on her finger.  

“I wanted to wait until my older brother could return from Japan. Then he could give me away,” she shared.

“Both my parents had died when I was a young girl, and my brother and I had become close, so it was important for him to be there at the wedding.”

Sixty-eight years ago, she and Cliff purchased a home in Brandon, where she lived the remainder of her life.

“I will live there as long as I can,” she often said.

And, she did.

Sue was a hard worker. She grew up near Magnolia, Minn. Her parents sadly passed away when she was five and 7 years old. So she and two of her older brothers lived with their grandparents, while three other siblings went to other homes. As she was about to head into high school, Sue’s grandfather didn’t feel she should go to high school. So, when the family moved off the farm to Luverne, Minn., she secured a job at the Luverne Bakery at the age 14.

“I did a little of everything. I loved working. I was well educated from the school of hard knocks. We did what we had to do,” she said.

At age 15, Sue developed an infection in her leg and spent three months off and on in the hospital. It was shortly after that she was introduced to the church, a place, she said, that her family didn’t go when she was a young child.

“I started going to church and Mrs. Munson put me in the Christmas program and confirmation. I was baptized as an adult and became a Christian. It truly changed my life. Before we were married, I talked Cliff into coming to church with me. Church has become very important in my life,” she shared.

Sue was a mother to four, grandmother of six, and great-grandmother of six.

And a friend to so many.

Although Sue was 91, she was an active 91-year-old. She enjoyed playing Bingo, attending dances at Active Generations on Tuesday nights with Cliff, an occasional trip to the casino, and of course, attending weekly worship services.

Although Sue didn’t want a funeral, she never said that I couldn’t share her story. Because as we know, everyone has a story to tell. And Sue’s was worth sharing.