Suzanne "Sue" Hildebrand

Suzanne Hildebrand 7/19/2024

Suzanne “Sue” Hildebrand, age 85, loving mother of two, grandma of four, and adoring wife to husband, John Hildebrand, passed away peacefully in her sleep during the evening hours of July 19th. Sue was born on January 12, 1939, in Dayton, Ohio, to parents, Helen and Robert Truxel. Sue was the gentle, yet quietly strong matriarch of our family. She taught us all how to love each other fully and what it meant to be a family. She met her husband, John, while she was still in middle school. He was friends with her older brother, Bill, in high school. She was just Bill’s kid sister until she wasn’t. In 1956, while John was in the Marines serving overseas in Japan, Sue, while in high school, wrote him a letter as requested by his mother. John once wrote her back a 100-page letter, mailed in ten separate envelopes, numbered 1-10. The mail carrier while delivering the letters to Sue sitting on her front porch remarked “man- this guy’s got it bad.” This was the start of an epic movie quality love story, lasting beyond their recently celebrated 65th wedding anniversary on June 27th. Sue and John lived in Dayton, and Cincinnati, Ohio, before moving to Bedford, Texas, in July of 1973, where they shared the same home for over 51 years.

As a mother and grandma, she was generous, loving, and kind, a true inspiration and role model. Her smile lit up the room. She was quick witted with a playful sense of humor and hated taking pictures. Sometimes, we made her anyway. She was an excellent listener, problem- solver, and extrovert, with a well learned Catholic school vocabulary. A favorite request of ours was for her to say the alphabet backwards, at lightning quick speed. We loved receiving her cards decorated with the many fun stickers for birthdays and holidays, always a standout treasure in the mail.

Sue was preceded in death by parents, Helen and Robert Truxel, brother, Bill Truxel, and grandson, Anthony Hildebrand.

Sue is survived by beloved husband, John Hildebrand, son, Jack Hildebrand (Eileen), daughter, Jeanne Gorrell (Shaylor), grandchildren, Robert Hildebrand, Ashlynn Gorrell, and John Gorrell (MacKenzie).

In lieu of flowers, the family would kindly request donations to be made to Sue and John’s merged Catholic high school in Dayton Ohio, Chaminade Julienne at: https://cjeagles.org/give/

Sue will be greatly missed by her loving family and close friends who adore her. 

“We know that we cannot have you here anymore, but we are happy knowing that we have a radiant angel watching over us all now. Goodbye to a beautiful wife, a special mother, and wonderful grandma.”

We will have a celebration of Sue’s life well lived on Saturday, August 24th at 10:00am at Lucas Funeral Home in Hurst, Texas.