Susan Godfrey Cully

Susie Stuart Cully, 77, of Shattuck, OK, passed peacefully from this life at the Shattuck Nursing Center, surrounded by loving family. A service celebrating her life will be Saturday, June 13, 2:00 PM, at First Methodist Church, 701 Olive St., Shattuck. A reception will follow the service in the Fellowship Hall of the church,; and a private burial service will occur later at Gage Memorial Cemetery.

Born on July 1, 1948, in Shattuck to Margaret (Harvey) and Ned Stuart, Susie graduated from Shattuck High School in 1966 and attended Oklahoma State University where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority, Army Blades (a ROTC support group and drill team), and Little Sigmas (a women’s auxiliary to Sigma Chi fraternity). She graduated from OSU in 1970 with a degree in Business Administration and worked for a year as an executive administrative assistant at Williams Brothers Company in Tulsa, OK.

In 1971, she married Jon Godfrey. After living in Okinawa for a year while Jon served in the United States Marines, they moved to Shattuck. In Okinawa, Susie acquired new culinary skills and, once home, delighted in treating her family and friends to delicious stir fry meals and to lessons in using chop sticks. But what brought her the most joy was settling in to living in her beloved hometown, reconnecting with friends, and becoming a mother. Their two awesome sons, Stuart and Patrick, were born in 1980 and 1984 respectively. In 2006, several years after Susie and Jon divorced, she and John Cully married. They lived on his family’s farm where Susie very happily gardened; relaxed on their front deck; and fed the wild animals that wandered onto their land.

Susie was a talented, accomplished woman. When she was in high school, she was considered one of the best flutists in the state, so good that band directors and fellow musicians would make it a point to be in the audience to hear her band contest solos. As an adult, she used her musical talents to play the organ and direct the choir at the Methodist church and to accompany the Shattuck school choirs, a volunteer opportunity that she absolutely loved. Not only was she a good musician but she held her own on the basketball court in high school and on every golf course she played. Also, she was a respected leader. While still in high school, she was elected Lt. Governor of Girls’ State. At OSU she served both her sorority and Army Blades as president and was named a Redskin Beauty, an honor bestowed on 6 women each year who are selected for their beauty, poise, and positive contributions to campus life. And at Shattuck National Bank, she was first the compliance officer and then CEO and president. In fact, she was one of the first female bank presidents in Oklahoma.

For all of this, the words that best describe Susie are “a woman strongly dedicated to home and family.” She loved Shattuck. She loved making her Shattuck home comfortable and friendly. She loved her boys unconditionally and selflessly. She loved her extended family. And, in a letter to some of her college friends, this is how she described her life with John on the Cully farm: “I wasn’t ready to quit banking, but something very, very nice came along, my new husband!!! I love living in the country with him. A lot of friends of mine in Shattuck didn’t think I would like the country, but they are wrong! We have a beautiful home and lots of trees and cattle, a dog, a cat, a neighbor’s dog who visits, turkeys, squirrels, quail, hummingbirds, and sometimes deer right out our windows. I can’t say enough good things about living here.” Simply put, Susie graced this world with a kind, sweet spirit that cherished home and family above all else. All was right in her world when she was gathered with family and friends in her home.

Her spirit lives on in those who survive her: husband John; son Stuart and wife Amber; son Patrick and wife Carrie; step-daughter Karla Killman and husband Dean; sister Sandy; brother Mike and wife Brooke; niece Kyle Cohlmia; nephews James, Luke, and Mason Stuart; grandchildren Ireland and Jones Godfrey, Baylee and Tayler Kraft, Bailey Killman, and Dalton Killman and wife Nicole; great-grandchildren Shepherd and Sunday Killman; cousins Andy Hall, BJ Blunt, Stuart Ingle, Ed Stuart, and Sally Stuart; and many, many friends. We will all miss her.`

Those wishing to make a donation in Susie’s memory may do so to Shattuck Public Schools, 602 S. Hickory, Shattuck, OK 73858. Please include “In memory of Susan Cully” on the memo line.