Susan Arlene Kingery

SUSAN ARLENE KINGERY, APRIL 25th, 1946 – NOVEMBER 25th, 2025

Susan Arlene (Newman) Kingery was born April 25, 1946 in Chicago, IL, and passed on November 25th, 2025.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Sidney (Cy) Newman and Belle B. (Glickman) Newman, and her older brother, Richard Newman. Sue is survived by her loving husband Ralph, daughter Caroline and son-in-law Mario, daughter Lisa, and grandchildren Samuel and Lila (NY). Also surviving Sue are her brother Robb (with wife Allison), IN, her brother Barry (with wife Zoe) WA, nephews Mitchell (Julie) and Mark (Mindy), niece Julie (Joel) Simon, and many grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Sue first lived with her family at an apartment building on Austin Boulevard in Chicago. The apartments were owned by the family, and occupied by other family members (Cy's parents Joseph and Gertrude (Pearl) Newman, Cy's brother Norman and wife Elaine Newman, and Cy's sister Anita (Newman) Dorfman with husband Jack Dorfman). Later, Cy and Belle moved to a home in Oak Park, IL, on Home Avenue. Sue went to grade school in Oak Park, then attended Oak Park-River Forest High School. She won a scholarship to the University of Illinois, and attended the University from 1964-1968, majoring in Anthropology. She lived in Nobel residence hall first, then later lived in the Pennsylvania Avenue Residence Halls (PAR). At PAR, she worked in the Food Service to help cover her expenses, and also met Ralph Kingery, her future husband, at a Food Service Christmas party.

Ralph was smitten, and during the Christmas holidays, he told his parents that he needed to go back to school to work on a project. Instead, he secretly drove to Sue's home (taking a shortcut through a cornfield) and knocked on the door at 10 p.m. Sue later said that she knew it was him when she heard the knock. The Newmans were very hospitable toward him, and took him to a family tradition, Chinese food on Christmas. Later, in early 1963, while Ralph was in Peace Corps training at Columbia University, Sue came to visit him, and they attended a rock concert at Fillmore East auditorium in NYC.

When Ralphs' Peace Corps service was soon to be ending, Sue arranged to meet him in Cyprus. Sue had to face her parents with the information that she intended to meet Ralph in Europe, while Ralph had to travel from Somalia to Egypt, and on to Cyprus. It is unknown which of these situations was more perilous.

After they met up, Sue and Ralph traveled to Israel, Greece, and Italy (where they had some white-knuckle travels on a Vespa). Then, it was on to France, Spain, and Morocco, each locale offering their own, unique adventures.

Soon, the weary travelers headed back to Oak Park. Sue and Ralph were married in Oak Park City Hall, July 21, 1969, a day which Sue's mother Belle deemed auspicious. Sue's brother Barry, 12 years old, served as the wedding photographer.

After getting married, Sue and Ralph traveled to Dixon, CA for a short-lived teaching job that Ralph had accepted. They later headed to Phoenix, AZ to stay with Sue's Aunt Anita. While looking for more stable jobs, Ralph and Sue both worked at Anita and Jack's leather crafts store. Sue ended up working for the 1970 U.S. Census, and Ralph later became a draftsman for Maricopa County. On the strength of their new jobs, they soon moved out to an apartment, then a home in central Phoenix.

They made friends first among some of Ralph's co-workers at the County, and then later with people whom Sue met at the Temple Beth Israel pre-school where she worked as a teacher's aide. They made many memories with all of their friends in Arizona.

In 1976 they decided that the time was right to have a family, and Sue and Ralph's first daughter Caroline was subsequently born in 1977. Their second daughter, Lisa, was born two years later.

When the kids were in middle and grade school, Ralph was offered a position at a new branch office in San Diego. Having spent several enjoyable vacations there over the years, the family agreed to move to San Diego. There, Sue became a teacher at the new preschool at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center, and worked there for over 25 years. Sue greatly loved teaching young children, and strove to be a good influence in their lives.

Sue and her family were able to travel to many interesting places throughout California, including Yosemite National Park, the central California coast, and Los Angeles and Laguna Beach scenic areas. One of Sue's favorite things was simply to walk at the local beaches, and enjoy family, friends and a good meal.

After Sue and Ralph were both retired, it was time to travel again! They saw many countries together, including England, Scotland, Turkey, and Egypt, and visited Israel, France, Italy, and Greece again. Sue was an enthusiastic and energetic travel partner on all those trips, and she and Ralph made many memories.

In 2022, Sue was diagnosed with Alzheimer's dementia. Ralph and Sue, along with daughter Caroline and son-in-law Mario, decided to move into a new house together to help support each other. At the new home, Sue immensely enjoyed the beautiful patio "jungle" as she called it, which was filled with many exotic plants and trees, and great for bird watching. She loved sitting in the sun, and taking in the beautiful view of the mountains. She also loved listening to classical music, and especially enjoyed the online recordings of Andre Rieu concerts in her later years.

Sue loved dance, music, art, nature, animals, anthropology and ancient history. She was especially fond of her aforementioned world travels with Ralph, enjoying food from all over the world (particularly the gelato in Italy). She loved seeing her grandchildren, cooking for family, and hosting great dinner parties. She had a dry wit, which always encouraged playful ribbing from all those close to her. She loved a good competitive game of Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble, and many a lively evening was spent this way. Her friends and family will miss her presence greatly.

Sue's family would like to thank the exceptional doctors, nurses, caregivers, social workers and caseworkers at At Your Home Family Care, Sharp Grossmont Hospital, Covenant Living (Mt Miguel), Morningside Manor, and Together Hospice. Our family continues to be so grateful for everyone's assistance with Sue as she declined. Thank you to Morningside staff and Together Hospice for your care during Sue's transition from this life to the next. We owe you all a debt of gratitude.

Donations in Sue's name can be made to the Alzheimer's Association of America, or your favorite charity.