Susan Earlene (Malstrom) Ness

Susan Earlene (Malstrom) Ness, 82, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend, passed away in her home June 14, following a battle with cancer.

Born in Aberdeen, Jan. 22, 1943, Sue was the daughter of Earl and Eva Malstrom. She graduated from Weatherwax High School in Aberdeen, where she was recognized as an outstanding student for her involvement in school and community activities. She enjoyed helping and working in her father’s store, Malstrom’s Fine Foods, in downtown Aberdeen. She was a demonstrator of the IBM computer and satellite tracking machines to thousands of people during Seattle’s World Fair. Among her most memorable experiences was meeting astronaut John Glenn.

Sue found her life partner when she married Richard Joseph (Joe) Ness. Both studied at Washington State University, and upon Joe’s graduation, the couple settled down to raise a family.

After welcoming three sons — Joey, Greg, and Mark — the couple moved from their first home in Montesano to a small farm by the Satsop River in 1972.

As the boys matured, Sue embarked on a career with the U.S. Postal Service, starting as a relief clerk in Satsop. In 1993, she was sworn in as the first female postmaster in Aberdeen’s history, making her one of the highest-ranking women leaders in the organization at the time. Before retirement, she served as postmaster of both Shelton and Montesano.

She went on to sell real estate before retiring and moving in to live closer to her son Mark and daughter-in-law Beth and her grandchildren Bailen and Elizabeth Susan. She enjoyed sharing their farm as home and time spent with family and her beloved dog, Lulu.

When she wasn’t golfing, she enjoyed painting by numbers, crocheting, walking around the farm and to the beach, and hosting lunches with cherished friends.

The passion she nurtured throughout her adult life was her love of golf, and she remains the only family member to have made a hole-in-one more than once.

In the last nine years, she was a member of the Madrona Links Niners Women’s Golf Club in Gig Harbor, the YOLO (you only live once) Sisters, a motto she lived by.

Sue was preceded in death by her husband Joe in 2003, her parents, and brother William.

She is survived by her three sons: Joseph (Sarah) Ness of Ridgefield; Greg (Billie) Ness, of Elma; and Mark (Beth) Ness, of Longbranch; by her six grand- children: Christopher Ness, Abigail Ness-Quinn, Carley Ness, Carter Ness, Bailen Ness, and Elizabeth Susan Ness, along with four great-grandchildren, Wade Thiriot-Ness, Sephira Ness, Selah Ness, and Jameson (Ness) Quinn.

Read more about Sue’s life at tuellmckee.com/obituaries.