Sue E. Dyer

Sue E. Dyer, loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend, teacher and volunteer, passed away on April 19, 2021 at the age of 96 at her home at The Mayflower retirement community in Winter Park. She entered the world on January 7, 1925 as Sue Ellen Gesling, the youngest of five children all raised in Lancaster, Ohio, and she maintained a close connection with her beloved hometown throughout her life.

Sue attended Lancaster High School and Bowling Green State University, where she formed a close bond with her Alpha Xi Delta sorority sisters as students during World War II. From there, she became one of the first women awarded a master's degree in business administration at Northwestern University. To support herself, she sold gloves at Marshall Fields in downtown Chicago. Just 25 years old, she returned to Bowling Green to teach mostly veterans attending college under the G.I. Bill.

Sue met Richard "Huck" Dyer, a handsome former professional baseball player and Mormon from Utah, at an Ohio State football game. They married in 1951 and shared 43 years together until his too-early passing in 1994. Together they raised five children in a house filled with warmth and laughter. In Madison, Wisconsin and then Maitland, Florida, the Dyer home and yard were the hub of neighborhood activity.

Sue returned to teaching at Winter Park High School, alma mater to all five of her children. She was an award-winning faculty member from 1972 to 1990 and introduced Fashion Merchandising to the curriculum. She later self-published a book, The History of Fashion from A to Z.

After retiring, Sue focused her talents on her adopted hometown, where she volunteered at the Maitland Historical Society, the Maitland Women's Club and the Maitland Civic Center. She served on the Orange County Council on Aging and was instrumental in construction of the new Maitland Senior Center. Her 80th birthday was proclaimed "Sue Dyer Day" by the City of Maitland, and she was later named "Volunteer of the Year." She was a voracious reader, loved playing golf, and volunteered in the scorekeeper's tent at the Walt Disney World Golf Classic for 20 years. Sue's last 12 years were spent at The Mayflower, where she served as president of the Resident's Council and found many dear friends.



But Sue's greatest legacy was her all-encompassing love for her family, which she demonstrated every day of her life. By example, she taught them courage in the face of adversity, the value of a positive attitude, and the support and security born of unconditional love.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents, William W. Gesling and Sue Crump Gesling, and her siblings, William J. Gesling, Martha Gesling Weber, Mary Lou Gesling Payne Spangenberg and Joan Gesling Ward. She is survived by her children, Matthew H. Dyer, of Pinehurst, North Carolina, W. Thomas Dyer of Winter Park, Florida, Sue E. Dyer of Winter Park, Florida, James R. Dyer of Longwood, Florida, and Mary C. "Marcy" Dyer Aydt of Maitland, Florida, and nine beloved grandchildren.