Mary Sue (Rice) Dawson

HOWARD- Mary Sue (Rice) Dawson, 89, surrounded by her family went home to the Lord on Oct 29, 2023.

Sue was born Sept 21, 1934 in Mt Vernon to the late Robert & Dorothy (Stull) Rice.  Sue graduated from Danville High School in 1952, and married Kenneth Dawson in 1953. They had 4 children together.

Sue was a long-time member of the Danville Church of Christ, where she served in various ministries including Ladies Aid, VBS, missions committees, & more. One of the things she was most proud of was the hundreds of “baby bundles” created by her & and the ladies of the church. In her later years, she transferred her church membership to Victory Church of Christ in Mt Vernon.  Sue & Ken were passionate about global missions, which led them to serve with ROC Mexican missions for a number of years, where they took short missions trips together to build churches and encourage pastors.

For 13 years, she worked by Ken’s side operating Camp Millwood. It was a special time in life for all the family, especially the grandkids who were the beneficiaries of land to roam and a store full of candy to sneak from behind grandma’s back.

Over her entire lifetime, Sue enjoyed sewing, knitting, crafting, & baking.  She was a 4-H leader for 20 years, baked wedding & special occasion cakes for a time, and knitted booties & sweaters for every baby born in the family. Sue really enjoyed making Christmas gifts for the family each year.  One Christmas, every member of the family (including their significant others) received knitted reindeer slippers. She had made 42 pairs of slippers!

Those who met Sue at the Golden Gate first when she arrived were, in addition to her parents, her husband Ken, son Ken Jr., grandson Darek, brother Eugene, and sister-in-law Carmen.

Surviving are Sue’s children, Marie (Chuck) Kreisher of Millersburg, Robert (Gayle) Dawson of Howard, and Beth (David) Erquhart of McKinleyville, CA; her grandchildren, Michelle, Kendra, Jason, Angela, Melissa, Shawn, Robin, Branden, Dustin, Zackery, Michaela, and Andy; 25 great-grandchildren & 7 great-great grandchildren; a special niece, Marcia; and many other nieces, nephews & extended family members.

Following private family-only viewing, public calling hours will begin at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 11, 2023 at Fischer Funeral Home, 403 High St. Danville, OH 43014. Funeral services will take place at 1:00 p.m., with Matt McManaway officiating. Burial immediately following at Workman Cemetery.

Sue’s family would like to give a special thanks to the staff at the Ohio Eastern Star Home, 1451 Gambier Rd. Mt. Vernon, OH 43050, who provided her daily care in a safe & comfortable atmosphere for the past 5 years, and to Capital City Hospice, 3525 Olentangy River Rd. Columbus, OH 43222, who provided wonderful compassionate care to her body as her soul was ushered into Glory. In lieu of flowers please donate to your favorite charity.