Good morning everyone,
Remember when Dorothy of PA and the World gave us the nickname “Sofa Sisters?” We’re a pretty big bunch of ladies, all different ages, gathered from different parts of the world, on this “great big sofa” and chat with the person sitting next to us and maybe even have our morning coffee or tea sitting there. We don’t have assigned seating, and that’s what makes it so fun… always chatting with somebody new who happened to sit beside us that day. It’s “really” just an imaginary Sofa, but the friendships we’ve made sitting on it are real. It’s always a nice place to sit and visit and talk about dolls or what we’ve just made; whether it be a doll dress, a quilt, kitty costumes or maybe even what’s being done at your house. We all share a bond with each other and it’s wonderful.
Well, I’m sorry to say, but today we have one less seat being sat on today. Our dear Susette passed away Thursday after a week-long stay in the hospital. She had been in A-fib and her blood pressure was high, which landed her in the ICU department. (I remember an email from her, saying her pacemaker didn’t seem right.) Her ex-husband said the measures taken by the doctors and nurses in the ICU department weren’t working, so Mr. Willhite and their 2 sons made the decision to move her to a hospital room and make her comfortable. She passed away with them by her side.
While it’s sad for her family, it’s just as sad for us… 2 in particular. Linda and Marilyn and Susette had formed their own little group after meeting on my blog and had been friends for the last 11 years. Linda told me they chatted back and forth usually several times a day and said even by 5:00 in the morning, they would have had several conversations already. So PLEASE keep Linda and Marilyn in your prayers. Losing a dear friend is never easy.
I looked through my MANY pictures and found a couple that I thought I’d share in memory of Susette. She LOVED setting up her little doll scenes and she loved her patio when the flowers were blooming. I always called her my “Sewing Disciple” because she said it was my blog and how I approached sewing for dolls that got her interested back in sewing after being away from it for years!
Please remember her family in your prayers… She was just getting ready to go to Houston, Texas, for a visit with them. If you’d like to send her family a card, please just say in your comment below, or email me, and I’ll send you her address.
This was a little house figurine she sent me… I keep it in my blue cabinet in the living room.
I don’t think any of us will ever forget her picture of being dressed up as a 20’s Flapper girl…
She told me this was her favorite outfit she had ever bought or won… I was honored… “Bee’s Knees” for Susette’s Rosalyn!
…what we do to get just the “right” picture of our dolls… :o)
Ready for its closeup.
Well, I have many many pictures from Susette, but I think I’ll stop here.
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne, what a beautiful tribute to one of the dearest friends I ever had, even though we never met physically. As I write this, I have tears in my eyes just seeing her pictures again.
Yes, she loved dressing her dolls and was quite the character too! Her favorite phrase was “I just couldn’t resist” when seeing dolls and clothes that she admired, then wound up getting! One time she was dressing her Molly, and emailed me with “Help, I can’t figure out how to put her sweater on over her braids without messing them up!” And to think we were several thousand miles apart!
And her flowers! She especially loved orchids, and lived in a strip of country where they grew especially well, and as you can see, she had some really beautiful ones. She also made fairy villages on her patio, which was just loaded with plants. She never could throw a plant away, and couldn’t believe I had to do just that when the weather turned to fall here.
Her family was her sweet spot. She had two sons and four grandchildren that she was so proud of, and was always telling me about their achievements. They were a multicultural family, since her daughters-in-law were Indian and Chinese.
As you mentioned, it was her blog that got us together, along with Marilyn. She reached out to me, because I was from St. Louis, and that’s where she was from too, although she moved away in her teen years. We remembered so many things that we shared in common, and she never forgot where she came from.
Saying I will miss her terribly is quite an understatement, but my life was enriched with our firendship, and all because of a little blog called “I Dream of Jeanne Marie”.
Reaching out to you and Marilyn, Linda. Although we all will miss dear Susette, your hearts will be especially hurt. What a lovely friendship you had with that lovely friend. My heart reaches out to you both.
Hi! I’m Riya, Susette’s granddaughter. My mom just sent this to me and I’m so happy to see that people care about her just as much as I do. Nana talked about you all the time and every time I told her something, she’d immediately tell me how excited she was to tell her friends. Thank you so much for making sure my nana was never lonely, I appreciate it more than you can imagine. I’ll miss her so much, and I’m so sorry you also lost one of your dear friends.
Best wishes 🙂
Hi Riya,
Thank you for your sweet note. I am so sorry this happened to your family. I know Susette was so proud of you and your brother. She bragged about you all the time. Your Nana had some wonderful friends here and they are truly missing her like you are.
I saw some recent pictures of you and you are a beautiful young lady… very beautiful.
Please know how much your Nana loved you and every single person in your family. Family was everything to her.
May the Lord wrap His loving and comforting arms around you as you try to make it each day without your loving Nana.
Blessings, Jeanne
I just knew, when I saw that headline, that Something had happened…..
I am so sorry to hear about Susette. My deepest condolences to her family, and to her special friends from this list, Linda and Marilyn, too. I also had a very special friend who I “met” but never in person–in our case, it was thru a sewing list–and then lost thru death. We had talked on the phone a couple of times, though. Anyone who thinks you can’t have a close friendship with someone you have never met in person is just wrong about that!!
Thanks for sharing so many of her wonderful pictures, Jeanne. I always looked forward to seeing Susette’s pictures, to seeing how she had dressed her dolls for a particular holiday or occasion. And her orchids! Oh, I just loved seeing her orchids. They are one of my favorite flowers, along with lilacs.
Peace to her memory.
C’est vrai que votre site est particulier;il rĂ©unit des soeurs de partout dans le monde. Et quand l’une ,s’en va ,c’est une amie que nous perdons ! Toutes mes condolĂ©ances Ă sa famille.
It’s true that your site is special; it brings together sisters from all over the world. And when one of them passes away, we lose a friend! My deepest condolences to her family.
Dear Jeanne, thank you for the beautiful photos of the memory of our dear Susette. She was such a lovely member of the sofa sisters and will be sadly missed by us all. Her memory will be with me and I will save these photos to keep it.
With sadness I write this note! It is so hard to go through the grieving! My hope is someone in her family will take good care of her dolls and love them as much as she did. If there is an obit, I hope you can share it with us! My sympathies to her family!
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of Susette! Please accept my sincere condolences, Linda and Marilyn. May God have mercy on her and may she rest in peace. Prayers for her, her family and friends.
Oh my heart is broken for her family.
My heart is broken for all of us. I believe that Angels came to gently bring her
to Heaven.
Jeanne, thank you so much for sharing these pictures, I remember them well, and now tears in my eyes. I hope her family knows of her dedicated and doting sofa sisters, and understands the love and cherished friendship she had here.
All of us need a prayerful day to remember dear Susette. Gosh, she was a gem… really a rare beautiful gem. she is safe now. Again, thank you Jeanne for sharing these memories.
I am numstruck with the passing of Susette. The other day, I was looking at plants and thought of her wonderful patio. I’ve been looking for some tiny ceramic houses to place in an old birdbath along with plants to make something similar to some creations that Susette showed us in years past. She was so artistic. The outfits she constructed for her dolls were amazing. And I’ll always remember her stairs with the lovely doll display cascading down to entertain all of us. She loved her family and particularly her wonderful grands. As a retired nurse, she always had good advice. I always loved it when she would chide me about climbing on the roof or up a ladder at my ages. After a posting, I knew that I would hear from her. She was right, but I don’t listen very well.
Thinking of her family and friends and wishing them strength during this time. Susette, was one of a kind.
Joy, Susette wasn’t a nurse, but worked in the medical records department of a hospital, which might explain it. She was very aware of all kinds of medical problems and injuries, and never hesitated to tell me if I was doing something I shouldn’t! (like climb on ladders!). She knew the end results of those injuries. Gee, I miss her!
Yeah, after I hit post, I remembered. And, yes I will miss her too.
I am so sorry to hear about Susette. I will be thinking of her family, sending thoughts of comfort to them. It was always so sweet to see pictures of her grandchildren. They will certainly miss her. As well as our dear sofa sisters especially for Linda and Marilyn.
I enjoyed seeing her dolls modeling their clothes on the stairs and I’m glad, Jeanne, you showed us the two girls dressed in their red glamorous outfits in the bedroom set Susette made! So clever.
Thank you for letting us know, Jeanne,. We will miss you Susette!
I am so sorry to hear about Susette. I can picture that very long sofa in my mind and see how we would space ourselves out on it to save the spot for Suzette to come and join us. I hope there is a possibility in heaven that we could meet each other and share our stories, and love of dolls….so it all doesn’t end here on earth. I have tears in my eyes after viewing her dolls photos again, and her beautiful plants and flowers. She definitely had a green thumb to maintain such greenery…I wonder if she “talked” to her plants sometimes…like I do and as my mother did to her plants. I really believe that plants respond to our “connection” and appreciate our love of their growth and flair and color.
Prayers to Susette’s family during this time. And Susette, we’ll see you someday on a “heavenly sofa” and reminisce.
There are some things you hear that just make your day but this sure wasn’t one of them. Losing a sofa sister is like losing a member of my family. Susette has family that live pretty near our son Sean. I know they were looking forward to her visit and are devastated by the news. She mentioned once how her beautiful granddaughter had outgrown dolls, but I wonder if she will inherit Susette’s dolls and learn to love them as Susette did. I know she loved her grandmother dearly and this would be a way for her to keep her memory close. I often wish I had something like that from my grandmother. I will so miss Susette’s displays, especially her wonderful stair displays – and, of course, her amazing patio. Thank you so much Jeanne for this wonderful tribute to a wonderful woman who will be sorely missed on the big sofa. Hugs to Linda and Marilyn. I know they are especially sad.
And you can have a deep relationship with someone you have never seen or spoken to in person. Years ago when we started participating in Scottish events Andrea decided she wanted a pen pal from Scotland. She got one and they communicated for a while, but her mother, Christiana, and I started writing and are still in touch to this day. Now we do it by email and WhatsApp. Andrea was in fourth or fifth grade when we started writing and she is now 44, so it has been a long time. During that time our children have grown up, married and had their own families. It seems Christina and I have more to talk about than ever these days. She’s my go-to person when things happen that are hard for me to deal with. I offer her the same safe haven when she has similar problems. We are both prayerful people, so we are on the same page as to how to deal with things that go awry but still need an earthly ear also. I don’t even want to think about her not being in my life. She is a bit younger than me but has some health problems, so I pray for her wellbeing every day.
Condolences to Susette’s family. They will be in my prayers.
I, too, just knew by the title that something sad had happened. I’m very sorry to learn of the passing of our dear Susette. My deepest condolences and prayers for her family and our dear Sofa Sisters Linda and Marilyn. Hugs to both of you.
I remember all of the lovely photos, especially when she dressed as a Flapper Girl, Molly and Kit in those red gowns, and her patio filled with orchids and fairy houses.
I do hope her granddaughter inherits her gorgeous doll collection. What a sweet memory that would be.
You most certainly can have a special close and deep relationship with someone you have never met or spoken to in person, just through letters, photos, and a phone call. I had a dear friend I met when I first joined the doll boards and then lost through death. I still have another I met the same way a little bit later, but best of all is the dearest friend ever who is just like a big sister to me that I know through this blog.
I was so very sorry to hear about Susette. I remember her photos and I especially remember Bees Knees. That was my favourite outfit of all you had made, Jeanne.
My condolences to her family and also to Linda and Barbara.
I don’t really mind getting older but this is the down side. The older we get the more we can outlive our friends. I have two or three very special friends but they all have health issues that I don’t!
God bless you all
Angel Sister: a poem for Susette
(copyright Dorothy in Pa and the World 2025)
She exchanged her dress for other things
like a robe, halo, and angel wings
We’ll miss her words about her life
this mother, gran, and cherished wife
Her smile we felt but could not see
her heart was giving, open, and free
Our sofa now has one less seat
in the holy realm that’s no defeat
While worldly things we may hold dear
our angel sister has this to share:
the goodness in God’s promised call
a heavenly temple that awaits us all
God has a space on His sofa above
where Susette now sits enveloped in love