Sue Gillette

Sue Gatlin Gillette, 86, Ottawa, KS passed away Sunday, September 22, 2019 at Rock Creek Nursing Facility in Ottawa, KS. Sue was born May 14, 1933 in Topeka, KS the daughter of Evelyn Bair Gatlin and Nathan Andrew Gatlin III. She lived in the Potwin and Oakland neighborhoods, attending elementary schools. In 1947, she moved to Ottawa, KS with her Mother and Stepfather, Evelyn and Clint "Tiny" Gaston. She attended Ottawa Junior and Senior High schools where she participated in a number of activities including cheer leading and band majorette. Sue was a member of the popularity contest in Junior High. Sue had three careers. The first was as a mother and homemaker for her family. The second career was as a business major at Johnson County Community College, where she was on the Presidents Honor Roll. Accounting was her favorite course of study. She used those skills as office manager for Pence Food Centers. She volunteered as bookkeeper for First Baptist Women and The Franklin County Historical Society. Her third career was in the health field. Sue earned a CPTA certificate from the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. Sue worked for three departments at the local hospital. Sue retired from Physical Therapy as a CPTA at Ransom Memorial Hospital after 23 years. Sue participated in many activities involving her family. These activities included Brownie and Girl Scout work, Cub Scout den mother, 4-H community leader, sewing leader, square dance helper for the 4-H Square Teens, traveling with them to out of town square dances. She was also co-founder of the Ottawa Junior Wranglers youth horse club where she served on the executive committee. She was responsible for the Junior Wranglers being invited to ride in the American Royal parade for several years. Sue organized and was drillmaster for the club. The drill team performed locally and at eastern Kansas fairs and rodeos. Sue was an excellent seamstress, making most of the dresses for her daughters. She also did some commercial dressmaking. Sue was active in several Ransom Memorial Hospital Auxiliary activities, including gift shop, information desk, and sewing committee. She received the Ransom Memorial Hospital Ambassador Award. One of her many hobbies was doll collecting, which started as a small child. Her doll collection included over 300 dolls. She loved every one of them and made beautiful clothes for many of them. Another hobby was quilting. She spent many hours quilting with her kitties lying beside her. Flower gardening was high on her list of priorities with hybrid iris topping the list. Water gardening and special fish occupied a lot of her time and energy in later years. Her back yard pond was a pride and joy. It seems that most of Sue's time and energy was spent doing things with her children. She has been a person who expected a lot of herself and others, didn't need notoriety but would rather quietly do things to make a better place for everyone. On July 1, 1950 Sue was united in marriage to Charles Gillette in Olathe, KS. They happily celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary this July. Sue is survived by her husband, Charles Gillette, Ottawa; son, Mark Gillette and his wife, Jeannie, Gilbert, AZ; daughter, Kelley Coday and her husband, Joe, Springfield, MO; and eleven grandchildren, Amy, Ben, Shane, Josh, Randall, Crysti, Justin, Emily, Connor, Patrick, and Mandy. She was preceded in death by her dad, Nathan; mother and step-father, Evelyn and Clint; daughter, Stephanie Gillette; and a brother, Nathan Gatlin. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Saturday, October 5, 2019 at the First Baptist Church, 410 S. Hickory, Ottawa, KS 66067. Burial will occur after the service at Highland Cemetery, Ottawa. A dinner will follow at First Baptist Church. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, October 4, 2019 at the Lamb-Roberts Funeral Home, 325 S. Hickory, Ottawa, KS 66067. Memorial contributions to First Baptist Church, Ottawa, Prairie Paws Animal Shelter, or Gillette Family Scholarship Fund at Ottawa University sent c/o the Lamb-Roberts Funeral Home, P.O. Box 14, Ottawa, KS 66067. Condolences to the family may be sent through www.lamb-roberts.com To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Sue Gillette please visit our Sympathy Store.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sue Gillette, please visit our floral store.