Susan Alleda (Olmsted) Stookey was born in Cedar Rapids, IA on March 7, 1947, to Helen (Mather Olmsted) Eye and Harold (Hal) Olmsted. Sue grew up in Cedar Rapids and Palo, IA, and she graduated from Washington High School (Cedar Rapids) in 1965. After graduation, she attended the University of Wisconsin (Madison), majoring in math. Sue married Ron Stookey on June 21, 1968, in Cedar Rapids. After they were married, Sue transferred to the University of Northern Iowa, where Ron was attending college, to complete her degree in math.

After graduating from UNI, Sue moved with Ron to Marshalltown, IA, while he completed his student teaching. The newlyweds then moved to Des Moines, IA, and Sue began working as a systems analyst for the State of Iowa. She worked there until the couple’s daughter, Joanna, was born in 1975. Their son, Mark, was born in 1978.

After the kids were old enough to attend school, Sue opened her first antique store in the Valley Junction shopping area (West Des Moines, IA). A couple years later, in January 1984, Sue and Ron opened Country Caboose Antiques, also in Valley Junction. Sue served on the forming committee to have Valley Junction designated as a Main Street community. The couple’s retail store and furniture refinishing and restoration business were open for 14 years, when they decided to close the retail store. The refinishing and restoration business remains in business today, under the same name.

While the retail store was still in operation, Sue began her show and event promotion business. She organized craft shows and antique shows at many of Iowa’s shopping malls and venues, including Merle Hay Mall, Valley West Mall, and Southridge Mall in Des Moines, as well as Westdale Mall in Cedar Rapids and North Grand Mall in Ames. She also promoted shows at Living History Farms in Des Moines.

In the early 2000’s, many local Iowa artists were no longer being selected to participate in the downtown Des Moines art show, as the show’s selection committee was opting to include more out-of-state artists. These local artists were looking for a way to continue showing their work, and Sue came up with the answer. In 2002, Sue organized and promoted the first, “ArtFest Midwest ‘The Other Art Show’”. It was held in the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, as an alternative to the downtown show. The show continued, with Sue at the helm, for 14 years.

During her lifetime, Sue became a strong proponent of taking charge of one’s healthcare. She was a two-time breast cancer survivor, and through her journey, she became very active in local breast cancer support groups, where she provided comfort and helped others learn how to advocate for their own healthcare. When the signs of Alzheimer's began appearing about 10 years ago, Sue became very proactive in learning all she could about the disease and how it could be best managed. As long as she was able, she enjoyed traveling to visit her kids and her grandkids—Owen and Taylor in Arizona and Ayla and Frankie in Colorado. Sue was an avid sports fan, and attended many sporting events, everything from the grandkids’ games to college basketball and bowl games. She lived at home, with Ron as her devoted primary caregiver, until December of 2023.

Sue passed from her earthly life on February 13, 2024. She is preceded in death by her mother, Helen (Mather Olmsted) Eye, her father, Harold Olmsted, her grandmother, Berneice (Winters) Olmsted, and many other members of the Mather, Olmsted, and Stookey families. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Ronald (Ron) Stookey; her daughter, Joanna (Stookey) Walker/son-in-law Shayne Walker; her son, Mark Stookey/daughter-in-law Nico (Ayala) Stookey; her beloved grandchildren, Owen (17) and Taylor (13) Walker and Ayla (11) and Frankie (8) Stookey; and her stepmother, Ada (Rawson Waterhouse) Olmsted.

A celebration of life will be held Wednesday, February 21, 2024, at Covenant Christian Church, 2700 72nd St.; Urbandale, IA 50322. Schedule: Gather & Visit with Sue’s Family & Friends—10 AM, Celebration of Life Program—11 AM, Light Lunch Served—12 PM. Attendees are encouraged to wear something purple—Sue’s favorite color. Flowers are welcome; the family would be grateful for any memorial contributions made in Sue’s honor to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (www.bcrf.org) or Covenant Christian Church (www.covenant-christian.org)

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