Sharon Sue Blalock Carney

Sharon Sue (Blalock) Carney passed away at home in West Jordan, Utah, at 3:05 a.m., Thursday, February 27, 2014, holding her husband’s hand and with her children and grandson around her. Sue, as she has always been known, was born to Dale and Elizabeth (Van Kirk) Blalock in Sturgis, Michigan on Tuesday, June 4, 1940, the third of five children and the only daughter. If you do not believe in foreordination, this story may change your view. In 1940 the Carney family was in the funeral home business in LaGrange, Indiana. As part of that business, ambulance service was provided. On a day in early June, Frank and Veva Carney drove an ambulance to the Blalock’s farmhouse. Elizabeth was nine months pregnant with her third child and there was some urgency to get her to the hospital. It so happens that Veva was also three and a half months pregnant with her first child. While the two babies neither saw nor heard each other, there must have been a connection because ten years later these two babies were thrown together again. After beginning her education in a three-room country schoolhouse, Sue and her classmates were sent to the school in town for the sixth grade. Coincidently, that was the same class in which Mike Carney was enrolled. On the first day of school all of the kids from that country school lined up in front of the class to introduce themselves. Each in turn told his or her name, but the pretty blond was too shy to be heard. It didn’t matter to Mike that he couldn’t hear her name; he knew that she was special, and was, therefore, inclined to stand up and say, “I’ll take that one!” While it was love at first sight for him, it took a few years to convince her that he was “the one”. During her high school years, Sue was queen of the senior prom and first runner up in the county fair queen contest, but her favorite thing was spelling bees where she excelled. She also belonged to the 4-H Club and played saxophone in the LaGrange High School marching band. After high school, Sue finished two years of training to be an x-ray technician. On March 20, 1960, she married Michael Frank Carney at the Methodist church in LaGrange. Over the next few years she gave birth to four daughters, Danelle, Julee, Stacy, and Kathy. Sadly, Kathy died on Sue’s birthday in 1964, but they are having a long-awaited reunion right now. During the same few years, Sue worked full time, first as a telephone operator and, later as the x-ray technician at LaGrange County Hospital. In February 1966, she gave birth to her son, Michael Steven. At that time, Mike was working at the post office and flew a blue flag on the post office flag pole that said, “It’s a boy!” Over the next several years, Sue willingly followed her husband around the country and worked full time while rearing four children as he attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan; California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco; and completed his residency in Long Beach, California. Some of Sue’s jobs included running Mike’s podiatry office, working at Cypress Printing, and working at Ensign Books. In 1978 two young men in black suits and ties knocked on the Carney family’s door and asked to give them a message about their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Both Sue and Mike were amenable to the message and asked the missionaries to return to teach their family. Sue and her family joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on December 9, 1978, and were welcomed into the Cypress First Ward. Soon after, they moved to Cypress, California, and in 1981 on Danelle’s 21st birthday, Sue gave birth to her youngest child, Christopher Ian, who was already an uncle at birth, as Sue’s first grandchild, Mark Anthony Carney, was almost 3 years old. Sue has enjoyed attending the weddings of her children and, most recently, Mark’s wedding in Oregon to a wonderful woman named Emily. It was the last trip she would make in this life and she enjoyed spending the week with her family in a house overlooking Mt. Hood. Over the years Sue was blessed with nine incredibly smart, talented, and beautiful grandchildren (six grandsons, two granddaughters, and one granddaughter on the way). Sue was a problem solver and could handle adversity with a calm spirit, which was proven at Julee’s wedding when the wedding dress proved to be too tight. With a smile on her face, Sue worked her magic, making the borrowed dress look like it was tailored to fit. She was a very talented artisan, working in stained glass, ceramics, sewing, knitting, crocheting, and tole painting. She never did anything that was not perfect. She had a strong work ethic and would not quit on a task until it was completed to perfection, whatever the task. People as far away as Africa and Australia own Sue Carney tole paintings. She was also a great cook and to the last her children came to her for cooking and sewing advice. Sue and Mike were 10 years old when they met in the sixth grade and last year they were 73. Their 54th anniversary would have been on the 20th of March. Or, as Mike said, they were married 53 years, 11 months, and 7 days -- not nearly long enough. In addition to her immediate family, Sue is survived by her two younger brothers, an aunt, and many cousins. She is preceded in death by her daughter, Kathy, her grandson, Cameron, her parents, her two older brothers, and two sisters-in-law. Sue led a long and full life and will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. We are grateful to a kind and loving Heavenly Father and know that she is being lovingly welcomed home by her Savior, Jesus Christ and her loved ones who have gone before. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, March 8th at 3:00 p.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 6592 W Haven Maple Drive, West Jordan, Utah 84081 and Saturday, March 15th at 11:00 a.m. at the Church Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 5151 Orange Avenue, Cypress, California 90630.

Sharon Sue Blalock Carney

June 4, 1940 - February 27, 2014