Claradell Sue Dehne
June 2, 1920 – February 9, 2013
Claradell “Sue” H. Dehne, passed away February 9, 2013, at the Village at Skyline in Colorado Springs, at age 92. She was born to Ernest and Ora Heath, in Redondo Beach, California, June 2, 1920, one of five children. She attended Inglewood High School and the University of California, Los Angeles. She met the love of her life, Paul H. Dehne, Sr., while building aircraft in southern California during World War II. They married in 1944 and had two children. Sue was a third-generation Californian, and lived there until coming to live in Colorado Springs in 2006.
She was an excellent homemaker, loving, supportive and generous. Her family was everything. Sue was an avid gardener and landscape artist. A gourmet cook, her English toffee was second to none. She was vivacious, cheerful, quick to laugh, and lived life with enthusiasm and grace. She and her husband were world travelers, and were in one of the first tourist groups admitted into China in the early 1970’s. A lifelong interest in antiques and Asian ceramics made her a valued companion at antique shows and sales. She was a gifted pianist, playing Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” flawlessly and with passion. She was my hero.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul, her son Paul Dehne, Jr., and by many of her immediate and extended family members and their spouses. Sue is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Laurie and Rusty Baker of Woodland Park, Colorado. She also leaves a grandson, Eric Paul Dehne, a great-grandson, Andrew Paul Dehne, and family member Chris McWherter, all of Lancaster, California. She also leaves behind her beloved “baby brother,” Charles Heath of Inglewood, California, and numerous dearly-loved nieces and nephews and their children, and many dear friends.
A family service will be held at Inglewood Park Cemetery in California. We wish to extend our sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the excellent staff at Brookdale Village at Skyline in Colorado Springs for their expert care and for making her a part of their family. They are gifted and special people. We will be ever grateful for them for outstanding service.
Rest well, sweet little mother, until we meet again.
“Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, Lord, by and by.”