Sue Sheeler
The gnarled branches of a massive oak tree nearly scrape the roof outside Sue Sheeler's bedroom where the limbs hang low, visible from nearly every window.
During construction of the home in 1984, builders suggested she remove the tree - they weren't sure how much longer it would live, they said, and uprooting it would make construction easier.
No, she told them. No trees will be cut down. Build the house around them.
Over the next decade the tree shaded her family as both expanded. Her children grew into adults under its thick branches. Its deep-grooved bark soon absorbed the laughs of her grandchildren.
Recently, the tree showed signs of distress. Some of its limbs lost leaves. Gray Spanish moss choked many of the branches. She worried about how many years it had left, but she always knew she made the right decision to build the house around it.
After suffering a stroke on May 30, Brenda Sue Sheeler died June 6 in her bedroom in Brenham, under the oak tree, surrounded by her family. She was 72.
The daughter of Ruth and J.D. Cammack, she was born in Humble, Texas. She pronounced the name of the town like the locals: without H, as "UHM-bul." The way she lived her life, however, the H was never silent. Her humility defined her as she preferred to talk about the accomplishments of others, always downplaying her own. Even those who knew her will likely find out something in this obituary they didn't know about the lady from Humble.
In 1965 she married James E. R. Sheeler, Jr. in Houston, and the couple had three children, Jimmy, Cassie and Amy. Over the next few decades she anchored the family as Jim traveled frequently while building two international oil services companies. She served as Cub Scout den mother and Brownie troop leader. She was an avid and accomplished tennis player and sharp-eyed bridge partner.
Possessing a stunning beauty she never flaunted, she hosted both formal dinners and casual get-togethers. Once the festivities started, however, she often faded into the background. While she never wanted to be the life of the party, everyone knew she was the heartbeat.
She organized family reunions where she memorized forests of family trees, remembering the names of children and grandchildren of friends and distant relatives, never forgetting a face, a birthday, or an anniversary.
Still, she found time to give back.
As a member of the Houston Junior Forum, she volunteered as a candy striper on a hospital ward for terminally ill children. A certified Master Gardener, she later worked as a docent at the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary at the Houston Audubon, leading toddlers in the "Titmouse Club" through the vast gardens.
In 1976 the couple bought nearly 100 acres of bluebonnet-blooming, oak tree-studded farmland near Brenham. They spent weekends there for the next decade while dreaming of one day retiring on the ranch. The couple later bought property in Steamboat Springs, Colo., where Sue prowled the forests, mountains and nearby trails. She soon transformed the property into a summer playground for the grandchildren where she could read under the shade of aspen trees near the sound of a roaring creek. But she always returned to the ranch.
The couple moved permanently to Brenham in 2003. There, Sue kept her hands in the dirt, tending roses, dogwoods and butterfly bushes as she watched the knuckles of the old oaks' branches droop to the ground.
Once the grandchildren arrived she adapted the grounds for them, adding a treehouse, zip line and tire swing dangling from an oak. Sharing her love of animals (she also volunteered for years at the ASPCA), she brought in goats, donkeys and miniature horses.
In her makeshift home office she set up in the playroom, photos of grandchildren spill out onto the floor. A consummate thank-you-note writer, a draft of her last note is scrawled on a legal pad, addressed to her book club. Her shelves boast titles ranging from Ernest Hemingway, Jhumpa Lahiri and Gabriel Garcia Marquez to Nora Roberts and John Grisham. In recent years she often devoured several novels a week. The books on her Kindle could fill a small library.
Self-taught in life, she built the equivalent of several degrees upon her high school education. She loved history - whether poring through books or discovering the hidden stories of antiques - and served on the board of the Independence Historical Society. Though she worked at her lifelong education, her sense of grace and elegance - like her beauty, was innate.
At the time of her death, she was reading a book about foster children in preparation to volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocate program for abused and neglected children. After being hospitalized, one of her primary concerns was missing the next CASA meeting.
Still, her favorite books were the ones she read out loud, in the voices of characters her children and her seven grandchildren will hear for the rest of their lives.
As "Grandmom," she was the one making party hats out of newspapers and leading parades around the yard. She was on the floor coloring, painting, baiting fishing poles, paddling canoes, leading hikes, and reading. And reading. And reading.
During her last days, her three grown children and her husband cared for her in her bedroom under the oak trees along with help from Hospice Brazos Valley. In that final week, she did something nobody thought possible: she cinched the already tight family even closer together.
As she lay dying, her husband, Jim, looked over at her, thinking about the last 48 years.
"There are women and there are ladies, and she was a true lady," he said. "She would have made a great queen."
Lucky for all of us, she made an even better Grandmom.
Following her wishes, her body will be cremated and her ashes buried under the arms of one of her favorite oak trees, down below the strong branches, near the only part that's even stronger; a place where her family knows she belongs: among the roots.
Survivors include her husband, Jim; children, James E.R. Sheeler III and his wife Annick Sauvageot, Cassie Lawrence and her husband Chris, and Amy Hunter and her husband Hadley; brother Jerry Cammack; grandchildren James E.R. Sheeler IV, Christina Lawrence, John Thomas Lawrence, Caroline Lawrence, Blake Hunter, Courtney Hunter, and Jesse Hunter; and a pack of "granddogs."
Visitation will be held Sunday June 9 from 5 -7 p.m. at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, 1010 Bering Dr., Houston, with a recitation of the Holy Rosary beginning at 6:30 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 a.m. at St. Cecilia Catholic Church, 11720 Joan of Arc Dr., Houston.
Donations in her name should be sent to Casa for Kids of South Central Texas, 2309 S. Day St., Brenham, TX, 77833; or to the Edith L. Moore Nature Sanctuary, 440 Wilchester Blvd., Houston, TX, 77079.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by anonymous.
Sue was so precious to me. So many memories. I often think of her and wish I could share something with her. She was always suportative and loving. I hope to see her again in heaven.
Connie Cammack
Family
June 1, 2021
Sue was my cousin. I miss her so much. There are so many things I remember about her. She had a big heart and she loved family. She will always be remembered. I love you Sue.
Connie Cammack
Family
June 1, 2020
I miss Sue so much. I think of her often. She was my cousin and we got close after her latter years. It was such a shock to lose her so quickly. I believe that she is in a better place and I will see her again soon. I love you Sue and you are truly missed.
Connie
Connie Cammack
Family
June 5, 2019
Jim,
I am humbled and honored to have helped you through this journey with your mom. Peace to you and your family!
Maryjo
August 11, 2013
Jim,
It was wonderful learning about your mother's story. Thank you for sharing with our AgeWise class the powerful work you do.
Nick Frank
July 28, 2013
I cannot imagine how difficult it was for Jimmy to write his mom's obit. It told me so many things I did not know about Sue. We were cousins, but apart for so many years while she was nourishing her family. Sue and Jim raised 3 wonderful children. Sue was what every mother should be. Her family was her life. It shows in Jim and all of the children. Sue was a gracious lady, like Jim said, she could have been a queen. I am so glad that we became close in the last few years. I will really miss her e-mails and talks on the phone. I wish we had lived closer so we could have visited more. I think that maybe her oak tree will flourish now. I know heaven is a more beautiful place with her beautiful smiles. May God bless each of you.
Connie Cammack
July 24, 2013
Beautiful story about your mother Jim III. My sympathies to you and your family on your loss.
Col (ret) Madonna Nuce Colorado ARNG
Donna Nuce
June 29, 2013
A very beautiful example of how we should all strive to live our lives. What a beautiful, and loving person. I was honored to meet Sue on two very special occasions---her son Jim's book signing events for OBIT and FINAL SALUTE. It was evident what a special Mother Sue was by her sincere joy and happiness for her son!
Jim wrote such a precious piece about this special lady. She is truely a beautiful person. Thank you, Jim, for sharing your Mother with all of us.
Our sincere sympathies go out to you and your family. From Colorado, The Wickham Family (LTC Wick aka Barbara, John Shane and Blake)
Barbara Wickham
June 28, 2013
A wonderful person who lit up a room when she walked in. I am blessed to have known Cassie's mom! She was an amazing, loving grandmother.
Tameron
June 25, 2013
A beautiful story about a beautiful lady, who will live on for generations in the character of her children, grandchildren, and even their children to come.
Betsy Cowan
June 22, 2013
Such an amazing Lady!!!!
So many wonderful and inspiring memories all of you will cherish forever!!!
Jane NADDER
June 22, 2013
I am in awe of your wonderful mother, grandmom and wife. Thank you for letting some of us in the din of living, know a little about your remarkable lady.
June 18, 2013
Sue's obituaries is one of the sweetest and loveliest I have ever read. I am sorry for your loss.
Sue Shirley-Howard - HJF
June 11, 2013
To the Sheeler Family: I have been friends with Amy for several years and I know that Sue's legacy lives on in her wonderful daughter. What a beautiful tribute you have written. May she rest in peace.
Rhonda Wilson
June 11, 2013
So very sorry to hear of your loss. We have been praying for blessings and healing for your family. Glad that you have so many wonderful memories.
Bart Oxspring
June 10, 2013
So sorry for your sudden loss, Cassie. I will be praying for you and your family.
Karen McCall Brown
June 10, 2013
To: The Sheerler Family.I am sorry for your lost.May the memories of your love one bring you comfort.
R. Gaines
June 10, 2013
Dear Jim and Family, Our prayers and condolences are with each and everyone of you. We have so many memories of you all as a family. We remember Sue as a gracious and kind lady. We send our love and pray for Our Lords sweetest Blessings. Dave, Marilyn, Linda, Lynne, Davey and Lisa
June 10, 2013
Thinking about you and your family, Cassie.
Andrea Piro
June 10, 2013
Just as another guest wrote on this page, I never had the honor of meeting Sue but I was so touched by the loving write-up about her life and how adored she was by her family. When I saw the photos on this site, it only added more poignancy to her passing. She looks like a woman who deeply enjoyed her life and her family and they loved her in return. My condolences to your family.
Colleen
June 10, 2013
Our Love and Prayers are with your Beautiful Family
Charlette & Clinton Deike
June 10, 2013
The beautiful obituary is written so eloquently that it is a true reflection of Sue's literary legacy! What a beautiful, loving person she was. Heaven is shining a bit brighter after her passing. May her memory shine brightly in the darkness of your loss. I know Ada Fay and Paul will greatly miss her. Our deepest sympathy, Deen and Holly Wood
Holly Wood
June 10, 2013
Our prayers are with your precious family...never got to meet you but understand their endearment to you, was a sideline hospice nurse for you, & am a fellow CASA advocate with you! Will meet you in heaven! Love Deb Ford
Deb Ford
June 9, 2013
What a beautiful tribute to a wonderful woman and mother. Our thoughts are with you all.
-Elizabeth Ghareeb
June 9, 2013
Our love to the family. An honor to be her cousin!
Lena Lou Landry
June 9, 2013
I've never met her, but this has to be the absolute best obituary I've ever read. What a well-loved woman she was! I wish I could have had the chance to know her!
Shelley
June 9, 2013
Amy,
We are so sorry to hear about your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this time.
Julie (Gleeson) Jewett and family
June 9, 2013
What a beautiful obituary. I know it is very difficult to lose your mom. I did not know Mrs. Sue Sheeler, but when I read about how wonderful a person she was I cried for my own mom. God bless your family.
Pam Coston
June 9, 2013
What a Beautiful Lady and a wonderful Life RIP
June 9, 2013
Jim,
Sue was, as you described, a real lady, but further, she was a magnificent human being who lived as we are all charged to live, a life of grace as she threaded her way through it, always making it better for others. I am so sorry not to be in the US celebrating her life with all of you at her services.
Some of us learn to love well, but every inch of Sue was love--it oozed from her and spread over all of us who called her friend. God blessed you, Jim for having the foresight to choose such a lovely human being to share your life with; thank you for bringing her into the orbit of our lives.
Pat Kuhn, Bishop's Stortford, UK
June 9, 2013
A woman whose legacy will live on forever in the lives of her family and those she touched, both two-legged and four-legged. Rest in Peace, Mrs. Sheeler.
Lorraine Melgosa
June 8, 2013
I know about hard obituaries to write, having written my moms. But we both succeeded in telling the world about two wonderful women. I've included yours in my blog, http://ninalentinislifewithoutend.blogspot.com/. She's among good company.
Nina Lentini
June 8, 2013
Jim III, So sorry for your families loss. Sounds like your mother was a very special lady,and a very pretty one. God is with you all.
Connie Givens
June 8, 2013
Jim III,
My heart goes out to you and Annick and your family. What an amazing and involved woman your mother was! So many interests and activities (and animals!), I'm sure she made a stellar mom and "Grandmom." Reading this makes me appreciate even more my own mom and her accomplishments. I'll be giving her an extra long and secure hug when I see her in a couple of weeks.
Your mom's relatively sudden passing was a shock I'm sure and I hope you were able to say your goodbyes. But you know better than most how fleeting life can be and how important is every moment we get to spend with those we love. It sounds like your mom knew this well and infused those times with large doses of quality time and love. You can't ask for much more.
I hope, apart from the heartbreaking circumstances, this finds you and your family well and happy. I hope to see you sometime soon, if you're ever back in CO.
With deepest condolences,
Jim Burrus
James Burrus
June 8, 2013
So sorry, Mr. Sheeler, for you loss. Praying for you and your family.
Debbie from Kansas
June 8, 2013
Sue was a truly genuine person. Always very loving to her "Daddy", proud of her children and Jim and you always knew what was on her mind. She will be fondly remembered. Our deepest sympathies.
John & Nancy Boyd & Family
June 8, 2013
Sue was such a warm and gracious, fine lady I will always respect. Pat and I were blessed to have known her, a real example of beautiful, Southern hospitality. I am heartbroken for the family, they are in my prayers.
Ann O'Malley Morgan
Brenham
June 7, 2013
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