A farm upbringing meant independence, frugality, care for all
Elsie Sue King of Kitchener Born: June 5, 1923, near Stratford Died: April 26, 2018, of age-related illness
KITCHENER — Sue King was fierce when it came to encouraging her four children to learn, to grow, to be independent thinkers, to use their minds and never, ever squander their talents.
“Some people would say she was a task master,” said daughter, Deardra Leslie who defends her mother, noting Sue never forced her kids into anything, but if there was a particular interest, well Sue couldn’t do enough to support their dreams. For Deardra, that was baton twirling.
“I wanted to do it,” said Deardra, a former world champion baton twirler and now an international judge and clinician with the Canadian Baton Twirling Federation. “My love became part of our (family) world.”
Did her mom ever force her do something she really had no interest in? Well, perhaps piano, she admits.
Deardra’s interest in baton twirling had fully engaged her parents, Sue and Burnum Addison King to the point the couple began organizing competitions in Waterloo Region. Deardra competed in the sport, travelling in Canada and the U.S. and her parents were there by her side, always encouraging and supporting.
Son, Doug King said “she worked diligently with us” adding he knew how to read and recognized numbers before starting kindergarten.
“My mother wanted us to excel and she’d provide any possible avenue,” said Deardra. “She was always a promoter, a go-getter, and she had a keen sense of competitiveness.”
Sue was born second youngest in the Mueller family consisting of 10 kids growing up on a farm near the tiny hamlet of Kuhryville, about 20 minutes from Stratford. Her parents ran a farm but when she was just six years old, her father John, fell from the barn roof and died, leaving his wife, Edith, a widow with 10 children.
Edith managed to run the farm and raise her children, with the help of the older kids, of course.
Deardra said “Edith was absolutely devoted to her family: these are the qualities our mother had.”
Life on the farm also taught Sue to be self-reliant, to work hard and never toss out anything that could be useful. And to possibly use found objects for entertainment. Like her older sister’s wedding veil that was left on a dining room table, way too tempting for a creative child like Sue.
“She took it and cut it to fit her doll,” said Deardra, remembering the story about how her aunt tried to repair the damage so she could still wear it on her wedding day.
“My mom said it looked better on her doll.”
A precocious child, Sue did well in all levels of her education, consistently placing at the top of her class, said Deardra. That streak continued when she attended Stratford Normal School (teachers’ college) and when she began teaching in one room school houses around the district.
“She excelled at everything she did,” said Deardra, proudly.
Sue met Burnum at a Stratford coffee shop where she worked to put herself through school and where he began showing up for butterscotch sundaes. Lots and lots of butterscotch sundaes.
After getting permission from Sue’s mother, the couple had their first official date in a Stratford dance hall, a place that was supposed to be off limits during wartime. Not that such restrictions ever stopped the young people. It was also where they first kissed.
In 1943, Burnum left to serve in the armed services and Sue continued to teach. She even worked for a time at the Mountain Sanatorium in Hamilton where she was thrilled to meet Walt Disney, who happened to be visiting.
“She was really proud of that,” said Deardra.
After the couple married in 1946, they moved to Waterloo Region and Sue continued teaching senior public school until she had her first child. Then came three more: Deardra, Monty and Tim.
When she could, Sue returned to teaching part-time and the couple also worked part time at Bingemans Conference Centre, after they had become friends with the Bingeman family.
After Burnum died of a heart attack in 1979, Sue was suddenly on her own. She had to learn to drive, purchase a car and take care of all the little details of running a household that Burnum had always done.
“All of a sudden, she had to look after those ‘manly’ things,” said Doug. “She was quite something.”
As Deardra said, her mother rarely sat still for long so it wasn’t surprising that she started teaching voice lessons as well as elocution and public speaking, being a stickler for good grammar and pronunciation. She taught in her home studio and several of Sue’s students went on to professional performance careers.
“My mother was passionate about making things better,” said Deardra noting this included everything from how children spoke to how the city ran its business.
Kitchener mayor, Berry Vrbanovic, knew Sue well and had been the recipient of her praise and well as criticism if she didn’t think the city was doing things right.
“She was passionate about local politics, provincial and federal,” said the mayor. “She was very much a compassionate person and she cared about people in the community who were struggling.”
He noted, Sue had a special concern for youth, wanting to give them guidance and help build confidence.
In 2017, Sue was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the baton twirling federation and Berry was there to cheer her on.
“I was so glad I was able to be there for her award,” he said. “She was very humble, she didn’t want anyone fussing over her but when it happened, she loved it.”
In a tribute, son Tim King recalled his mother as energetic, opinionated, a woman who strongly believed in developing children and young adults to their full potential particularly in the performing arts.
“This included not only her own children, grandchildren, but also anyone else who wished to improve themselves,” he recalled. “Mom and Dad always encouraged their children to be well rounded and to train with the best possible coaches.”
The quest for perfection extended to Sue’s garden and there were many recipients of her beautiful flowers as well as vegetables.
During the summer, Sue showed her appreciation for Kitchener city staff by showing up every week with a fresh cut bouquet of flowers. She would take similar bouquets to anyone she felt deserved a little lift such as her doctor.
Sue also had a real soft spot for animals and was always eager to puppy sit Doug’s dogs. The canines must have loved visiting Sue because upon returning home, they would be off their food for awhile. Doug later found out it was because his mom had been cooking hamburger, rice and gravy for them.
Apparently nothing was too good for her kids, grandkids, or even her grand-dogs.