Susan “Susie” Yvonne Cooke, 66, of Statesville, N.C., transitioned peacefully in her home on Sunday, August 13, 2023, at 4:45 a.m. after a brief but valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. She was born February 12 1957, in Natick, Mass., to Charles L. Farrell and Frances Farrell.

Susan spent her life honoring the unheard voices of children in her life. She was a devoted “Grammy” to many. She loved spending time by the ocean and listening to music. Her love for family and friends was unwavering, consistent, compassionate, deeply loving, and never ran dry.

She is survived by her three children and seven grandchildren, Sean T. Harada & his son, Mason; Chad M. Harada and his children, Haley, Kaela, Gabriel, and Joshua; Crystal N. Harada and her children, Jocelyn Grzegorczyk and Demetrius Sakellariou; her sister, Elizabeth Patterson and her husband George Patterson and children, Heather, Cheri, Nikki, Rebecca, Hillary, & Tylor; her niece, Jennifer Blevins and daughter, Alycia; and close family friend Keith Grzegorczyk.

A Celebration of her Life will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, August 25, 2023, in the Chapel of Nicholson Funeral Home. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Chapel.

Little Susie Q.

A little girl with no voice. Or maybe she was speechless. Having no words to say, or at least the courage to say them out loud. But being quiet never did suit her. She learned to whisper. Her whispers turning into a powerful voice. She used that voice to speak for any child that she felt couldn’t.

She wasn’t eloquent with her words.

She wasn’t calculated or concise.

She didn’t speak within the made up confines of linguistics.

She was unpredictable and clumsy. She would fumble and stumble to find the words. But she always found them. She was brave, generous, diligent, supportive and loving.

She had developed into Susan.

She spent the rest of her life making sure her grandchildren felt seen, valued, loved and most importantly, heard.

She started as Susie Q. with no voice and grew into Susan who always spoke. We all need a Susan to encourage all the Susie Qs.

Rest now, Susie Q.

We see you!

We value you!

We love you!

We hear you!

Nicholson Funeral Home has the honor of serving the family.