Suzanne Polk Field's Obituary
Suzanne Polk Field, a beloved wife, devoted mother, adoring grandmother, a remarkable teacher, an accomplished pianist, and a woman extraordinaire, died May 31, 2016. She was 87. Sue, as she was known by those closest to her, lived a full and interesting life, one that was graced by kindness and patience, and her never-ending love for Bob, her best friend and husband for 65 years. Sue was born in Oaktown, Ind., the daughter of the late Audria and Charles Steele Polk, whose ancestry was shared with James K. Polk, the 11th president of the United States, and Captain Charles Polk, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who was awarded a homestead farm in Indiana for his service. As a child during the depression, Sue spent much of her time on that family farm learning from her grandmother, Faye, whose faith in Christ became the bedrock of Sue’s life. After graduating from high school in Harrisburg, Ill., Sue attended William Woods College and graduated from Purdue University in Lafayette, Ind., where she met Bob. They married in 1951 and returned to Purdue two years later where Sue taught school as she earned her Masters of Science. In 1956, they moved their young family to Indianapolis, and Sue continued teaching while raising two children before Bob’s employer, Firestone Industrial Products Co., transferred them to Germantown, Tenn. Sue quickly found a teaching position as a home economics teacher at White Station High School, where she taught most of her students how to sew and had the patience of Job for those who couldn’t. Sue loved her family and she was a dedicated educator who understood that teaching young people the basic skills of home life would help to make their world, and ours, a better place. Sue taught design and clothing courses at the University of Memphis, where she was honored by her students as a Favorite Teacher. She was a founding department head at Shelby State Community College on Union Avenue, where she created the Department of Consumer and Family Studies and taught clothing and design courses. She created the college’s displaced homemaker program, and was instrumental in creating a program to teach prison inmates job skills. She later developed Tech Prep vocational courses for city school students. Sue was self-effacing and modest and considered herself ordinary, though her life was extraordinary. She rode five-gaited horses, dabbled in painting, woke up happy each morning, loved animals, baked cakes and pies from scratch, played the piano, smiled often, played bridge, went sailing, entertained students, raised Schnauzers, sang while she planted flowers, sewed her daughter’s clothes, loved the beach, and enjoyed her family’s home at Pickwick Lake. Sue even found time to be a member of the Germantown Church of Christ, Germantown Presbyterian Church, the Germantown Garden Club, to serve as the president of the Germantown chapter of the DAR, and to travel the world with the love of her life, Bob (Robert Max Field), who survives her. She also leaves: a daughter, Lisa Field Leffler (Steve); a son, Robert Mark Field (Debbie); and four grandchildren, Will Leffler, Robert Leffler, Forrest Field, and Anna Field, all of Memphis; seven nieces and nephews; and many friends and former students who always will remember Sue for richly blessing their lives. Visitation will be Friday, June 3 at 12:30 p.m. at the Germantown Church of Christ, with services following at 2 p.m. Burial will be in the Oaktown Cemetery in Oaktown, Ind. The Field family asks that you remember Sue and the wonderful life she lived with a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, www.alz.org. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, 5668 Poplar Ave., Memphis TN 38119. (901) 767-8930. “Celebrating Life….Behind the Stone Wall.”Service times and obituary will be posted as soon as they become available.
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