Susan B. Paton

Susan Bennett Paton, 85, of Parker, Colorado, went to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Jan. 30, 2018, after a seven-year long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born September 7, 1932 in Douglaston, New York, the youngest of three children, to Homer and Elizabeth Bennett. Her father had served in the U.S. Marines as a pilot during World War I.

Her family ancestry on both sides was rich in American history. On her mother’s side, her great, great grandfather was H.G. Blake, a U.S Congressman during the Civil War era, who was an early member of the Republican Party and an outspoken Christian abolitionist who sheltered runaway slaves in his home in Medina, Ohio. On her father’s side, she was related to Peter Brown of the Mayflower, John Brown the famous abolitionist, and President Ulysses S. Grant.

Prompted by the death of her grandfather, her family returned to their home town of Medina, Ohio where her father assumed management of his family owned lumber yard. It was there that she graduated from high school, class of 1950, and later attended Baldwin-Wallace College in Barea, Ohio where she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority.

In 1952, she met Herbert Gibson Paton in Akron Ohio, where they both worked at the Corporate offices of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. Soon engaged, they were married on May 9, 1953 in Medina.

Susan and Herb’s first home was in St. Louis, Mo., followed by homes in Afton, Mo., Kirkwood, Mo., Overland Park, Kansas and Littleton, Colo., following Herb’s career advancements with the Leeds & Northrup Co.

Along the way, they had six children, three boys and three girls. All six kids graduated from Heritage High School in Littleton. In 1990, they moved from their Littleton home of 21 years to Perry Park, Co, and then retired in 1995 and moved to Green Valley, AZ. When Sue’s health began to decline, they moved in with their son Huntley and his family in Charlotte, NC, for six months, at which time her health required her to move into a permanent care facility, in Parker, CO where 3 of her children lived near by.

Susan was a passionate and committed Christian. She was studious and well-spoken, a voracious reader, skilled in Christian apologetics. Even more so, she had a passion for sharing the love of Christ with her children, friends, loved ones and people all over the world.

She loved to play the piano, garden, play tennis, ski, and in her later years, developed a passion for oil painting.

She loved travel of all sorts, and she and Herb took their children on camping adventures all over the Western United States and Canada. Summertime in the Paton family meant piling two adults, six kids and a yellow lab named Cinnamon into a station wagon, hitching up a U-Haul, and hitting the interstates. Winter meant taking everyone (except the dog) to ski at Geneva Basin. And regardless of the season, Susan stayed busy taking her children to football, baseball, basketball and soccer games, track meets, swim meets, cheerleader practice, music lessons, Brownie and Cub Scout meetings, and doctor appointments.

Susan considered motherhood and homemaking an honor and a privilege. As a mother, she was firm but unflinchingly forgiving and unflaggingly loving. Nothing could make her give up on her children. When one was sick, she would sing to them and whisper how she wished she could take the pain on herself. Each of her children would, in their own ways, bring her some grief and pain, but she was always supportive and forgiving, and no one ever had any doubt how loved they were.

Sue and Herb had a strong marriage of almost 65 years and enjoyed an active social life together, making close friends at the Scottish Society, their churches and neighborhoods. After retirement, to Green Valley, AZ, Sue and Herb traveled on several mission trips together, giving out Bibles, prayer walking, teaching English as a second language and shared the Gospel in Cuba, Turkey, Russia, Eastern Europe and Mexico.

She loved Arizona sunsets and said even the summer heat there didn’t bother her.

She is preceded in death by her parents Homer and Elizabeth Bennett, brother Huntley and sister Marie. She also is survived by her husband Herb, brother-in-law Bob Paton and sister-in-law Jean Warren, and her six children -- Cyndi Teflian, Craig Paton and Carolyn Paton (who each reside in Colorado); Ted Paton, of Tucson, Ariz.; Huntley Paton, of San Diego; and Laura Benson, of St. Louis. She also is survived by sons-in-law Mark Teflian and Mike Benson, and daughters-in-law Anne Paton and Dawn Paton. She loved and was loved by her 15 grandchildren -- Natalie, Jim, Kelly, Maddie, Hannah, Brianne, Elise, Mitchell, Carter, Brittany, Bennett, Grace, Carolyn, Meredith and Hailey -- and two great grandchildren: Nicholas and Haley. 

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, February 10, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. at Drinkwine Family Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to; Alzheimer's Association - www.alz.org/donate or to Samaritan's Purse (Humanitarian Aid Organization)  - www.samaritanspurse.org in Sue's memory.

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