Sultan loses a community spirit

Those who knew Susie Hollenbeck can easily agree on one thing: she may be gone, but she will never be forgotten.

A longtime Sultan resident and community activist, Hollenbeck died early Thursday, Sept. 24, after a battle with ovarian cancer that began in fall 2013.

Hollenbeck volunteered countless hours cleaning up the city, working to clear trash from the streets, scrub graffiti and spruce up Sultan's lush system of riverside parks. She coordinated a large-scale, annual community clean-up event known as City Wide Pride, held every year in April.-á

Earlier this year she co-founded a community garden outside the A-frame at the Sultan Volunteers of America (VOA). She helped construct the raised garden beds and continually assisted with the garden's maintenance. Hollenbeck worked with close friend Margaret Biggs, who donated two park benches that she and Hollenbeck sanded and stained, so there would be a place at the garden for people to sit.

The community garden board of directors is planning to make a memorial area at the garden to honor Hollenbeck's memory.

Hollenbeck was honored repeatedly for her efforts.

In addition to achieving Sky Valley Volunteer of the Year, she was the keynote speaker during Sultan's Volunteer Appreciation dinner in 2013. She was honored before the Sultan City Council in January 2014 for extensive volunteerism, and this May was honored for her long-term efforts to enhance Sultan's park system.

Hollenbeck was well known for her spunk and unrelenting passion for the community. When she saw something questionable happening in her city, whether it was somebody littering or dealing drugs, she took a stand without fear or reservation.

"Bad men win when good men do nothing,GÇ¥ Hollenbeck said during an interview in 2013.

Hollenbeck was once asked if she participated in Sultan's adopt-a-street program, through which volunteers sign up to keep Sultan streets free from litter. Hollenbeck said, "I adopted the whole community.GÇ¥

And she truly did. Even in the midst of chemotherapy, Hollenbeck could be found raking leaves along Main Street, weeding at the Sultan Post Office, picking up trash in the parks and attending Block Watch meetings. It was Hollenbeck who partnered with the city, devoting her time to help secure grant funding from the Snohomish County Conservation Futures program. The money was used for the land acquisitions necessary to construct a new nature trail connecting Osprey and River parks.

Former Sultan councilmember Kristina Blair recalled when Hollenbeck approached her with her idea of creating a contiguous trail system connecting the parks.-á

"She was so excited about that trail that she asked me to come and walk it with her, and I did,GÇ¥ Blair said. "She was so proud to show me how she groomed all the trails, what edible plants were on the trails and how cool the trail system would be if it went through the whole way.GÇ¥

The trail, known as "Susie's Trail,GÇ¥ is clearly marked on Osprey Park's new interpretative signage.

Hollenbeck had extensive knowledge of the wooded areas around the Sultan River because she grew up exploring the region on the back of her pony. Within a couple years of moving to Sultan in 1961, she made fast friends with Jennifer Kieffer, whose family lived nearby. The two spent their days exploring the Sky Valley on the backs of their ponies, Randy and Spooker.

"Susie and I lived on our ponies,GÇ¥ Kieffer said. "We had the best time.GÇ¥

Kieffer and Hollenbeck grew up together, and remained friends into adulthood. Hollenbeck graduated from Sultan High School in 1978, with Kieffer a year behind. Hollenbeck left the Sultan area first, and went on to become a wildland firefighter. She spent five years with the U.S. Forest Service on a Helitack crew, and was one of the first responders after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

Kieffer's husband, Steve, was acquainted with Hollenbeck prior to meeting Jennifer. Hollenbeck grew up with horses, and Steve served as her family's farrier. He also was her instructor during a mountain climbing course she mastered shortly after graduated from high school. The course was demanding, said Steve Kieffer, and most weren't able to complete it.

"It was fun to see Susie there,GÇ¥ Steve said. "It was a real feather in her cap that she was capable of doing something like that.GÇ¥

Hollenbeck started her own painting business in the early 1980s, naming her company A Woman's Touch Painting. Other than a few years spent with relatives in Texas, Hollenbeck didn't stray too far from the Sky Valley area. When she purchased her house in Sultan in 2006, it was literally like coming home. She settled in and went to work making a positive impact.

Kieffer enjoyed watching her embrace her community advocacy. Hollenbeck always said she got it from her mother, who instilled in her a sense of civic-mindedness at an early age.

"I was just absolutely tickled to death to see her doing all this stuff. She was just really getting ingrained in the community and becoming a participating citizen,GÇ¥ Kieffer said. "The person that she became here was ultimately, I think, where Susie was headed all of her life.GÇ¥

Hollenbeck enjoyed her self-sufficiency, and wasn't one to reach out for help. When she first got sick in 2013, she didn't seek medical attention right away because she had to wait until she could afford medical insurance. She fought cancer valiantly, and responded well to the chemotherapy regimen in the beginning.

But the disease crept back, and she stopped responding to treatment. Kieffer helped care for Hollenbeck up until the end, along with Hollenbeck's family and a few select friends. Margaret Biggs drove her to the hospital on Labor Day, where she stayed for two weeks before being returning home on Tuesday, Sept. 22. After that, Kieffer cared for her around-the-clock, along with hospice and family members.-á -á

Kieffer recalled a touching moment at the hospital, when Hollenbeck expressed surprised delight after a visit from Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick. Kieffer was quick to assure her that, of course Eslick would visit, as the two were longtime friends.

"It just makes you cry,GÇ¥ Kieffer said. "She didn't think that she was worthy or something; I don't know why.GÇ¥

Kieffer loved Hollenbeck and will miss her with all her heart. The Sultan community has suffered a great loss, she said.

"She'd come off sometimes as really being a hard ass, but deep down that girl had a heart of gold,GÇ¥ Kieffer said. "I'm learning more and more and more about Susie as I go through her house and see all the things that she'd collected.GÇ¥

Hollenbeck's celebration of life will be held 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, at the Sultan Volunteers of America (VOA), 601 First St., and all are welcome to attend.-á To learn more about Hollenbeck's contributions to the Sultan Community Garden, visit www.facebook.com/groups/247189582094655/.