She was born in Edinburgh on the 11th July 1960 to father Ralph Fanshawe – who was studying his PHD in the Scottish city, and mother Joyce Fanshawe. Sue was a dear sister to older brother Cliff and younger brother Andy, and the family lived in various parts of the UK before Ralph and Joyce eventually settled in the village of Lodsworth near Midhurst in West Sussex some 40 odd years ago.
From a young age Sue developed a love of nature and always adored being in the great outdoors. The family spent many happy holidays in Scotland in the family campervan where Sue enjoyed boating & fishing with her dad.
She was a popular girl, making many friends, not only at the many different schools she attended around the country but also on holiday at home and abroad where even language barriers didn’t stop her getting to know other children and having many adventures. Sue made many lifelong friends during her early life, but it was in her teens, when the family moved to Wilmslow in Cheshire that she developed a close and lasting friendship group, represented here today by Claire.
It was whilst living in Wilmslow, at the age of 18 that Sue first met Graham. She was a Ranger Guide and he a Venture Scout and the pair met at various scouting and social events. They developed a close friendship group, but Sue had her heart set on a romance with Graham and so asked her dad for some advice on how to win his affections. He told her, ‘find out what he’s drinking and have one yourself.’ So, during a week away in the Lake District Sue matched Graham pint for pint of Theakstons Old Peculiar, but even this didn’t get Graham’s attention! However, when Sue decided to climb a mountain without suitably warm clothes, her subsequent hypothermia certainly got his attention as he and a mate had to escort her off the mountain! In order to raise her body temperature warming cuddles were needed and that was the start of a beautiful relationship!
After this short romance, the couple went their separate ways with Graham moving to study in Edinburgh and Sue and her family moving to West Sussex where from 1978 – 1982 she trained as a State Registered Nurse in Oxford. Despite the years of living 400 miles apart, the two of them kept their relationship going through letters to each other, infrequent payphone conversations and weekends away when they could find the time, and after their respective studies Sue & Graham married on the 16th October 1982 and made their home briefly in Southampton where they both started their first jobs, Graham as a Research Assistant and Sue as a Staff Nurse in Neurology. Despite living in a grotty rental house they were very happy living together at last.
In 1983 they moved to London after Graham secured a place on a Masters degree course at St Georges Hospital. Here, Sue fulfilled additional training in burns treatment and plastic surgery at Roehampton Hospital . Two years later the couple made their home in Leamington Spa where they welcomed the birth of son Ralph in 1985 & daughter Alex in 1987. Between pregnancies Sue took on various part time jobs on hospital wards but was blissfully happy being a mother, a role that came naturally to her as she devoted herself to creating a safe, happy and loving home.
The young family moved to Oxford in 1988 and it was there that daughter Lizzy completed the family in 1989. As well as continuing to create a new home and more lifelong friendships through the childrens’ schools, this was a time of many treasured memories from fun weekends away and many camping holidays around the UK. They were usually wet & cold but great times were had none-the-less! There was a spell of more exotic holidays too. Who, as a kid could forget a wonderful family holiday to Disneyland, Florida to celebrate Ralph senior’s 60th then two years later travelling across Nevada, Utah & California in a campervan seeing the wild and wonderful natural scenery there. There were also many trips across Europe as the family grew up, most notably to Corsica which they did 3 times including for Sue’s 50th birthday celebrations. The ultimate exotic trip however, occurred when Sue’s brother Cliff was living in New Zealand, and the family enjoyed a fantastic visit there, again in a campervan which had become Sue’s favorite way to spend a holiday, giving her the pleasure of shopping for food locally and the challenge of cooking the best meals possible on a two ring gas stove. Her inginuity knew no bounds.
Inspired by these trips and looking for a bit more comfort after having spent many years camping in a tent, Sue & Graham bought a campervan in 2010 and loved travelling around the UK and Europe in it. Sue has seen some beautiful parts of the world but her heart was always in Scotland and the Outer Hebrides in particular. Graham and his family would like you all to know that Sue’s ashes are to be scattered on a gorgeous beach in Harris, a place that always felt like her spiritual home. She was so pleased to have been able to take the family there this July.
As well as these fantastic trips away during this period, Sue as ever was instrumental in planning and executing many social activities, (usually hatched in the school playground), and through these Sue & Graham developed a wide circle of friends whilst living in Oxford, many of whom are here today[GH1] . Despite many of the group moving away to other parts of the UK they still share many great times together and Sue always looked forward to spending time with them all.
Sue’s career took off again as the children grew up. She resumed full time work firstly as a Research Nurse but then after being given an opportunity to take a position as a Practice Nurse by her friend Richard Green she found her true vocation. After learning the ropes and putting herself through several training courses and diplomas Sue proudly became lead nurse and was inspirational in this role. She was in charge of recruiting the full nursing team and because of her dedication and fierce commitment to providing the best patient care the team was the envy of other Practices across Oxford. Her professionalism was recognised when she received the Chairman’s Award, given to the person in the Health Region who had contributed most to improving standards of care. As lead nurse Sue mentored many young nurses, encouraging them into the profession and ensuring that they received the best training and conditions – always in her very patient & understated way. It is no accident that Adele, her daughter in law is now following in her footsteps and has just secured a job as a Practice Nurse herself.
As I mentioned earlier Sue always had a love of the great outdoors and even though she didn’t particularly share Graham’s love of climbing she did enjoy accompanying him on trips to the Peak District, where the walking and scenery captured the hearts of them both. Eventually, the couple bought a flat up here in Sheffield for stays over the weekend and the property also came in very useful for Alex when she came to study at Hallam University.
When Graham took redundancy from his long time job in 2009 it was the natural progression for them to move up to Sheffield, and despite some initial reservations from Sue as she really didn’t want to leave her job in Oxford, they moved to Dore in 2010.
Sue continued her employment as a practice nurse after moving to Sheffield, working firstly at Hackenthorpe Surgery where she met and became a firm friend of Tracy, and then, after they both left on the same day, at Meadow Green Surgery in Greenhill. After a year here she was once again in a position where she had to create a new nursing team from scratch, but rather than taking the lead herself (been there, done that) she convinced the Practice Manager and the Doctors that the perfect person to do this was Tracy. She was correct of course and between them they went on to build one of the best nursing teams in Sheffield, Tracy making sure that things got done and Sue nurturing the new recruits and again ensuring that the patient care was the best that could be. Between them Tracy and Sue were a force to be reckoned with and they were instrumental in helping smooth the way for the merger of the Practice with another local one and then moving to a purpose built medical center in Jordanthorpe. Sue loved her job with a passion and because she treated all her patients with such care and attention to their needs she was greatly respected by them and a great favorite. The whole team at Jordanthorpe already miss her greatly .
On moving to Sheffield Sue joined the Practice Nurse Forum in order to meet other nurses in the area and quickly made a few friends at their regular meetings. Sue and a small group of ladies from the forum were interested in joining a WI group. Rather than join a long waiting list they decided to set up their own group and so just under 10 years ago WIER (WI on Ecclesall Road) was formed, and we are delighted to have Danni & Kate representing the group here today.
Despite never having had any experience before, Sue stepped up to take the role of Treasurer for the first 2 years and was then asked to take on the role of President. She was, of course a natural in the role, chairing the monthly committee meetings, arranging social events and representing WIER at regional events and even though she was never particularly comfortable with public speaking she would welcome & introduce the guest speakers in her own quietly confident manner
Getting people together was definitely Sue’s forte and she relished the WI ethos of coming together and so thoroughly enjoyed being involved with the WI. The members will tell you that Sue was such a fun & friendly lady and made friends easily, always being the life & soul of any group but not in ‘showy’ way, actually preferring to stay out of the limelight. She just had such an infectious joy that translated to others, and a real zest for life.
Anyone who has been to Sue and Graham’s house will be able to tell you that Sue’s other passion in life is arts and crafts, in particular the beautiful creations in stained glass that ador every room. Typically she wanted to share this passion so she was always ready to teach people how to do it themselves – both as a WI activity and as a weekend treat for friends. She learned the skill at evening classes in Oxford and initially produced leaded stained glass panels, but grew to prefer ‘Tiffany’ work that allowed her to make smaller, more delicate objects. Again, due to her patience & great teaching skills the classes were a success and Sue was so proud that all her students produced beautiful pieces.
Sue was seriously considering using her skills to set up a business, and had converted part of the family home into a workshop. ‘Good Looking Glass’ was born during lockdown in 2020 and was something she had intended to develop in her retirement. In 2018 and 2019, through a friend at the WI, Sue got a stall at the Sharrowvale Christmas market, and, assisted by Alex & Lizzy who also share Mum’s skill for stained glass creations, they produced enough items to sell on the stall. In both years it was phenomenally successful, they made a solid profit and sold out of their wares! Unfortunately COVID-19 put a stop to the market last year but a stall is booked again for this year and Alex & Lizzy are continuing their Mum’s legacy.
Sue’s other passion, in what spare time she had left, was gardening and with a willing workforce she spent a lot of time planning and developing her gardens both in Oxford and up here in Sheffield. Graham assures me that he has been working hard over the past week to keep it looking at its best. He hopes you all can tell when you go back there later!
Sue has lived a full & happy life surrounded by the people who loved her. Family life was so important to Sue - she warmly welcomed her brother Cliff’s wife Karen and Andy’s wife Caroline into the family as well as being close to Caroline’s sister Marie-Claire. She was always close to Graham’s side of the family too, being much-loved by his dad John & Stepmum Penny and by his sister Jane, her husband Andy and his brother David. Sue was thrilled to become an aunty to Cliff & Karen’s children Max & Zoe and to Jane & Andy’s children Dan & Rhiannon. More recently of course she was delighted to become mother in law to Adele and welcome Ed, Alex’s partner into the Hughes family. Sue was never happier than when she was able to spend time with the family and was so glad to have been well enough to enjoy the fabulous time she had in the Hebrides with everyone in June.
Sadly, Sue’s brother Andy tragically died in a climbing accident in 1992[GH2] and today he is fondly in our thoughts too. In his memory a charitable trust was set up and every year since, a fundraising event has been held, first in the Lake District, latterly in the Peak District involving walks, climbs, swims and other activities. Memorably, in the early years of these events Sue would take on the responsibility of feeding the 100 + people and would BBQ and make huge salads on a campsite with pretty much no facilities. Her food was amazing and everyone fondly remembers her sticky toffee pudding at these events. She really could have turned her culinary skills into a very successful business but she really just enjoyed the challenge, like whenever Sue & Graham would go away with their friends, sometimes 20 at a time, Sue would take charge of the catering. Similarly, whilst camping in Scotland Sue would make amazing pizzas on her BBQ-cum-pizza-oven much to the amazement of the fellow campers!
Her crowning glory however was in 2015 when she organized the catering for Ralph and Adele’s wedding, not being at all fazed by planning a 4-course meal for 110 guests. It only took a year of planning, she was in her element. So that she could enjoy the big day she created a photo-filled instruction manual to guide 6 of Lizzy’s university friends on how to plate up the fantastic meal. It was a wonderful day and what a way to welcome her daughter-in-law into the family
Just like with the glass business Alex & Lizzy are carrying on their mum’s legacy and have prepared all the food for after this service rather than having caterers in - something Sue would have been very proud to see.
Although life continued happily for Sue, she has had her share of health issues to cope with along the way, notably her diagnosis of breast cancer when she was 50. In true Sue style however, she battled through the surgery, chemotherapy and Herceptin treatment with her legendary stoicism and two years later was actually cured of this devastating disease.
However, in December last year she was diagnosed with cancer again, this time, cruelly with an incurable brain tumour. She underwent a successful craniotomy on the 16th December to remove the main tumour, which was successful, but at the follow up consultation she and Graham were given the dreadful news that it was an advanced Stage 4 primary tumour and sadly there was no prospect of curative treatment. She took this news calmly and graciously and in true Sue style immediately began to plan to make the most of the time she had left.
Of course, Sue’s first thought was for others and her strength of character really came to the fore. She was determined to live the rest of her life to the full and told all her loved ones that when the time comes, not to be sad but instead be grateful for the time shared. Her positivity was an inspiration and she never showed any signs of self-pity. She led the way for her family, guiding them through their grief with strength, with courage and with dignity.
She tolerated six rounds of chemotherapy and the side effects that it caused with typical good grace and continued to potter in the garden produce new stained glass designs, play Mah Jong with her WI friends and participate in WI committee meetings via Zoom. Magically, she was fit and well at the end of June and was able to make the long journey up to Harris for the long awaited family holiday that had been originally planned to celebrate her 60th birthday in 2020. It was the best of times and she was truly happy to be in her spiritual home with her family all around her.
Sadly though, just a week later she became ill again as the tumour overcame the chemotherapy and started growing again. Rather than letting it get her down though, she accepted her fate and reflected on the six months of good quality time she had been able to enjoy after the diagnosis. Despite a rapid decline in her health thereon, she and Graham fitted in a short break down in Oxford, visiting old haunts and meeting up with good friends again. Just two weeks later the tumour took over completely and Sue was admitted to hospital for palliative care. Sue had already decided that she wanted to return home for what was to be the last 2 weeks of her life. The family rallied around to make this happen and she spent her remaining days content at home surrounded by her loved ones and watching the birds on the feeder just outside the front room window which became her bedroom.
And there peacefully on the 2nd September surrounded by her loving family, Sue had to leave us. In that instant our lives became poorer but they are richer indeed for having known her and been loved by her.
Today Sue, we honour the way you lived your life – your strength of character, your generosity of spirit and your kind nature but most of all we thank you for the love you gave to your family & many friends.
And we will now pause to give you the chance to further relive your memories of Sue, to say goodbye in your own, private way and