Phil Major

Lesa and Suzanne show off the decorations for the all-day tailgate party ahead of the Jimmy Buffett concert in 2014. Later in the day the potty would become the scene of one of those stories that takes on a life of its own.

(Monitor photo by Phil Major)

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As I type this through tears that have flowed for several days, I struggle to find words to express the great loss many are feeling.

The news that our friend, fellow community newspaper owner and all-around good person Suzanne Bardwell had been killed in a traffic crash in Longview Friday afternoon hit like a ton, many tons, of bricks.

As the news spread, the accolades came rolling in. She would have loved the comments but hated that they were shared on a social media platform that she despised for the damage it is doing to interpersonal relationships and to democracy.

She spent 33 years teaching in White Oak, Gilmer and Spring Hill before retiring to take on a second career, helping her husband Jim to operate first the Gladewater Mirror in 2012 and then later the White Oak Independent and the Lindale News and Times.

It was a text from Suzanne over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2018 that alerted us that they had bought the News and Times, and the Monitor was for sale and we should buy it.

It’s no surprise to anyone who knew her that she would take a proactive role in changing people’s lives. She helped change thousands of them for the better.

The number of comments from her former students and their level of passion has been remarkable. We knew she was a great teacher, but to see it expressed over and over was at least a little comforting.

Almost all said she was the best, or at least one of the best, they ever had.

And while some referenced the knowledge she taught them in journalism or sociology or psychology, more often their comments were about what she meant to them personally and what she taught them about life and living and how she brought out the best in them.

Especially poignant were those who did not even have her as a teacher but came to her classroom for its warm, caring environment just to hang out.

Others who have weighed in have included fellow teachers, the community journalism sister and brotherhood and just about every civic organization in the Gladewater area, most of whom she had assisted.

It didn’t take long for the comments to run into the thousands.

I could fill up most of this week’s paper with stories and praises for Suzanne.

I’ll focus on one piece of that complex puzzle.

She and Jim first met at church camp when they were 13. Most of us don’t find our soul mate at that age, but they did, and once Jim convinced her to come along for the ride, what a ride it has been.

Theirs wasn’t just a marriage or a partnership or a life journey – and it was all of those things – it was an epic adventure.

And one of the best things about that adventure was that they had no qualms with inviting everyone else to join in.

We took them up on that invitation a few times and wound up with some stories to tell.

I think the statute of limitation has expired, so I can tell you about the portable toilet incident at the 2014 Jimmy Buffett concert in Frisco. For the record, I was not the one who pushed it over with the drunken pirate inside.

In what wound up being her final writings last week, she was praising the work of two members of the Gladewater community who had recently died and concluded by saying this: “If we can take anything from the lives of these two dedicated individuals, it is the model of how to serve others. So, as we make and discard New Year’s resolutions, let us commit to making our corner of the world a better place. Snuffy and Marsha certainly did just that. The best way we can honor them is to do the same.”

We add Suzanne to that list and will endeavor to live her advice to the best of our ability. She would expect no less and would help equip us to accomplish the goal.