Sue Ann Simpson Williams

Sue Ann Simpson Williams, 66, of Hamilton, MT passed away peacefully on Sunday, November 2, 2014 at St. Patrick Hospital in her loving daughter's arms.

She was born on June 22, 1948 in Port Arthur, Texas to Mary Louise Taylor and William Albert Simpson. Sue Ann was a girl that grew into a woman with a zest for life and a love of adventure. She was the pied piper who brought us all along for the ride.

Raised along the Gulf Coast of Texas with her older sister Jane Shirley, Sue Ann was a spirited Southern Belle who went on to attend Tyler Junior College in Tyler, Texas. While there she was a proud member of the Apache Belle Precision Drill Team, traveling the U.S. performing her illustrious high kicks for the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins in Washington D.C.

While in college she met her husband Bradley Williams during a beach outing with friends in 1967. She was wearing a yellow polka dot bikini, it caught Bradley's eye and his southern charm captured her heart. After a three-year courtship the couple married on August 4, 1970 in Port Arthur, Texas and have been going steady for 45 years since.

Among her proudest accomplishments, after logging many long hours in the cockpit, she became a qualified private pilot on February 1, 1978, later receiving her aerobatic pilot rating in 1979. Also after logging many hours in the labor and delivery room, she became a mother on May 27, 1983, with the birth of her only child Dusty in Beaumont, Texas. From that day on, mother and daughter would share an enduring bond of love and friendship, appreciation and sacrifice, celebration and gratefulness that both knew would never break, nor bend. Even with the greatest of distances between them.

Whether hunting whitetail deer with her family in Texas, relishing the opportunity to drive 18-wheeler trucks for her father-in-law's masonry business, catapulting her dirt bike off jumps in the backwoods of Texas with her best friend Jan, hang gliding off mountains, or skydiving with her daughter -- Sue Ann had an undaunted enthusiasm for any adventure in life that she came across. Even in her 60's, her unstoppable spirit ensured her adventures continued by packing her horses into the Montana Wilderness for week-long hunting trips with her husband, reeling in 30 lb King Salmon off the shores of Kodiak Island, Alaska, and venturing off the beaten path into Spain's countryside with no plan, just her daughter in tow and smile of wonder on her face – every experience was guaranteed to be more fun with Sue Ann by your side. She enjoyed the simple things with just as much appreciation, whether it be picking raspberries in her garden with her husband, playing tennis with her daughter or enjoying peaceful moments flying fishing with her family on the Bitterroot River – age did not garnish her amazement for what each experience, big or small, had to offer.

Sue Ann's zest for life was undeniable, the love for her daughter and husband unparalleled, and twinkle in her eye one of a kind. Words will never be able to describe how robust, dazzling and fun her soul truly was, and how terribly she will be missed. Her ever-so-cool, sweet and feisty spirit is sure to live on in her family and amongst her many, many adoring friends who were all amazingly blessed to have shared this life with her.

If Sue Ann could write some simple parting words to us today, they would surly be along the lines of, "I'll look back on all this and smile, because it was LIFE, and I decided to live it!"

To my most beautiful Mama, as Tom Petty once sang, "You belong among the wildflowers…"
You already know how I will always love you to the moon and back with all my heart.
So, here's to the next big adventure!
- Your little girl

Survivors include her husband, Bradley, Hamilton; one daughter Dusty, Chicago; one sister Jane Shirley, Chappell Hill, TX; two nephews and one niece, Taylor & Joya Cutshall, Houston, TX, and Chris Cutshall, Dallas, TX.

Memorial Service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, November 14th at Grace Lutheran Church in Hamilton with Pastor Vern Sandersfeld officiating. A Celebration of Life will follow from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at HigherGround Brewing Co. in Hamilton. All friends are invited to join both Service and Celebration to honor our sweet Sue Ann. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to Grace Lutheran Church, 275 Hattie Ln., Hamilton, MT, 59840.
Condolences and memories may be left for the family at www.missoulafuneralhomes.com

Read Sue Williams's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.