Sue Darlene Hanshaw

ROCKY MOUNT - Sue Darlene Hanshaw, age 82, passed away on Tuesday, July 14, 2020. Born in Cabell County, WV on June 21, 1938, she was the daughter of the late Jack Stern Hanshaw and Vella Mae Adkins Hanshaw. Sue was the descendent of 18th century pioneers who stepped off the ships in Jamestown, Virginia. The Virginia hills and the Ohio River were their destination. A daughter of the American Revolution full of piss and vinegar was later tempered by grace and grit. Sue was armored well to wage battle after battle with Ovarian Cancer. It ripped and ravaged her body but never her spirit, her courage or wit. She always sought the lighthearted side, the funny side. If she couldn't find it she made it up. Her healers and caregivers in the UNC GYN Oncology Clinic dispelled the dark shadows with light and her loneliness with companions just like her fighting the fight together. Not alone. They called themselves the Belly Button Babes. When treatment was no longer an option, Sue chose new caregivers, the Nash UNC Health Care Systems Hospice & Palliative Care team. She fought the disease as hard as she could as long as she could. In the end, the disease won. Sue believed the love given to her stays with her and never goes away. She was convinced love empowers us and makes us part of a celestial mystery much bigger and powerful than ourselves. This power allows us to illuminate the dark and light the way to the place where we and all creation began. The great circle of life, light and love. Stardust to stardust. Near the end of his life, Stephen Hawking wrote this … "we are all time travelers journeying together into the future. But let us work together to make that future a place we want to visit. Be brave, be determined, overcome the odds. It can be done. It can be done". So grieve not, nor speak of me with tears, but laugh and talk of me as if I were beside you. I loved you so - t'was Heaven being here with you. Should you care to remember me be kind to our Mother Earth - plant a tree or a flower for her. Be kind to all the creatures - protect, comfort, feed and adopt. Insist on mercy for the farm animals. Be kind to one another. Each and every one. Be kind in word and action - embrace kindness. Wrap it around the cold, the lonely, the afraid. Sometime you may see an unexpected twinkle, or sparkle, feel a rush of wind in a still place, a wisp of mist that appears then soon vanishes. A memory, a melody. I'll be loving you always. I thank you who travelled with me from the beginning to this journeys end. We have only just begun. The great circle of life, light and love. Stardust to stardust … Sue is survived by her longtime companion, G. Rick Sasser of Rocky Mount; her son, Thomas "Tommy" Otis Fulcher, Jr. and wife, Elizabeth Morey, of Kitty Hawk; her daughters, Melanie Fulcher of Lebanon, ME and Andrea Fulcher of Raleigh; her grandson, Shane Elwell and wife, Yuliya; and her great-granddaughter, Maya. Along with her immediate family, Sue leaves behind to cherish her memory, extended family, Bobbi Hanshaw, Connie, Christin and Craig Williams, Dibbie Adkins, Shirley Dundas, Marsha Kauff, Vickie and Jackie Roach and their late mother, Carol; wonderful school friends, Eddie Mott, Dale Jones, Strat Douthat, Carolyn Sheils, Jo Wheeler, Margy Fisher, Roslyn Dial; dear friends in Huntington, the Andersons; the Rays; and all her Wilson Court neighbors; the people that were there for her, Jan and Anne, Ulli, Joan, Gloria, Richard, Ann, Brack, and Becky; Nash County Dems - especially Arne, Valerie and Debbie; Durham friends, Louise, Morgan, Jeannie and Clyde; bestest Rocky Mount Senior Fitness Team, Arnetta Roberson, Debra Slavin, Pat Thorn, Theresa Marshall, Wanda Jewett, Cynthia Moses, Catherine Jackson; UNC GYN Oncology Team in Chapel Hill; the Doctors, Jarvis, Kim, Roque, Clark, Castalano, Bae-Jump, Clarke-Pearson; nurses and staff, Katie, Danielle, Robin, Tara, Sherrill, Angela, Barbara, Deborah, Annie, Kat, and Kimbers; Women's Hospital nurses, Kim and Olympia; Nash-UNC Day Staff, Sheila and Nikki; Rocky Mount Medical Team, Dr. Emmanuel and Nurse Ernestine; Nash-UNC Hospice Team, especially Chanequa, Debbie, Keith, and Dr. Boyette; and the friends with her each step, Rhona Martin, Sue Moore, Karen Russo, Debbie Suiter, and Eddie Stewart. There will be no memorial service. Cremation will be followed with a private dispersal of the ashes at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com. Service There will be no memorial service. Cremation will be followed with a private dispersal of the ashes at a later date.